Except Antarctica! by Todd Sturgell

You need to add this book to your school library. It is a perfect text for all your science units about animals, animal classification and habitats plus it is SO funny. The only question you might have to ask yourself is just where to shelve this book? Is it just a picture book about a crazy turtle who sets out to disprove the theory that turtles live on every continent except antarctica? Well yes. Turtle gathers all his friends, who also apparently do not live in Antarctica, and the team set off to check this out for themselves. So far this could just be a funny romp, a story, but the final pages - eight of them - are filled with animal facts - like a non-fiction book. Oh, and the end papers are world maps and a useful map of Antarctica showing all the research stations.

The swiftly rising, maniacal tone is highlighted by different, boldfaced types assigned to the narrator and the animals. Vivid, wildly imaginative illustrations add wonder and excitement to the proceedings. Readers will laugh out loud at the animals’ recalcitrance and the narrator’s frustrations, all the while absorbing a great deal of information. Delightful and hilarious. Kirkus Star review

This nature-documentary-gone-wrong is a gleefully funny lesson in determination, and includes educational backmatter and lots of animal fun facts! Penguin Books

Now think about the animals that travel with our hero - an owl, a dung beetle, a snake, a mouse, a bee, and a frog. Yes nearly every animal group is covered - birds, insects, reptiles, mammals, and amphibians. Only one group is missing - can your readers work this out and then can they talk about why.

Here are a few fun facts from the final pages in this book:

• The oldest turtle in the world lived to be 255 and was named Adwaita.
• Burrowing owls love to eat dung beetles.
• Dung beetles navigate using the Milky Way.
• Snakes smell with their tongues.
• Bees love the colour blue.
• Mice eat fifteen to twenty times a day.
• Frogs were the first land animals with vocal cords.

Except Antarctica was published in 2021. It is still available and I found a copy for a good price but you might need to act quickly because I imagine their stock might be limited. Here are a set of teaching ideas from the publisher. 

This book is also an example of breaking the fourth wall - you will hear the voice of the off stage narrator trying to advise the turtle his mission is impossible. 

Here are some companion books:

Todd Sturgell is an illustrator, author, and freelance art & creative director. In his previous career as a corporate advertising art director, he worked with national brands including The Home Depot, Hyundai, Red Lobster, and 7-11; in his current role, he focuses on local and regional clients including universities, museums, and music, food, arts, and wine festivals. He lives, hikes, draws, and watches nature documentaries in the North Carolina Mountains with his wife, daughters, and dog Max (named for a certain famous picture book character). He has not yet been to Antarctica.