All about Antarctica - A fact book about the Southernmost Continent
Take a close look at the cover - there are two things I need you to see. The first is the series name - "An Everything and Everywhere book". Now move in even closer. Look at the author name Marc Martin. Move your eyes to the left - yes can you see him - a tiny penguin wearing a red hat! Now that you have found this little penguin on the cover of All about Antarctica keep going because he is on EVERY page. Oh, and make sure you run your fingers over the cover because it is embossed - I love this. In fact the production values of this book are very high and yet the price is so affordable - three cheers for Penguin Random House. Make sure you read the whole of this blog post because there is a surprise at the end!
I am not sure if this is still the case, but Grade Six students in my former school studied Antarctica and so along the way I read and learnt a lot about this wonderful continent. Like Marc Martin I found there was so much to discover and I totally agree with him that it needs to be cared for a kept as pristine as possible and this means, sorry if this offends you, less or even no tourists (those are my words not taken from Marc Martin).
In the library when we explored Antarctica, though books and journals and video clips, I loved discoveries about the layers of clothes, the job application process and personal attributes of the scientists who work there, life on the research station, the Antarctic Treaty, terminology used for icebergs, all the different penguins (my favourite is the Chinstrap) and of course stories of the heroic explorers. All about Antarctica covers all of this and more but in an easy-to-read format for younger readers aged 6+. Every page is filled with tiny images to explore so this is a book to savor and enjoy.
And the text has a light layer of humour. Make sure you look at the faces of the poor ponies used by Ernest Shackleton:
"Also, Antarctica has penguins, and the Arctic doesn't, while the Arctic has polar bears, and Antarctica doesn't." "Antarctica gets very cold so you need lots of warm clothing! ... so don't forget your jacket."
Marc Martin spoke at a city bookstore last night and he explained that he creates each image separately and then combines them onto each page in a form of digital collage - it is easy to see he once worked as a graphic designer because his page layouts are so perfect. Marc Martin uses digital technology, but he is so aware that "the more digital you do the less human it feels". I cheered when he said this because it is so true. (Not to criticise another wonderful illustrator but one of our Australian and famous illustrators has a new series of books about emotions and they just don't reach out to me - now I know why - because every illustration has been done with digital techniques and both of the books in his series feel so clinical and cold).
Anyway, back to All about Antarctica, which is a book that should be added to every school library collection and a book that I am certain will be a CBCA Eve Pownall notable and shortlist title in 2026. The idea for a book about Antarctica came from a page Marc included in his book Lots. An interesting but important thing to know in the US, Lots is called Everything and Everywhere - can you see the link. I scoffed when he told us this because so many of our Australian books are given a new title by their US publisher but actually in this case there was a good reason. The word 'lot' has a different meaning in the US and often relates to a parking lot or a block of land. Marc plans to use the US title as a series name and his next book will be about Markets - such a wealth of things to explore under that title.
Listening to an author or an illustrator talk about their work is always so fascinating. He took enormous care creating this book - from page layouts, accuracy and the very important choice of font which needed to look like handwriting to give his book a journal feel. He used his own handwriting in Lots but with so much text in this book he was pleased to find the perfect computer font to match is style. It is called Blaue Brush. It is also clear that an enormous amount of research has gone into the thousands of facts inside this book.
From award-winning Australian author/illustrator Marc Martin: A fact-packed illustrated journey to the coldest place on Earth - Antarctica! Antarctica is a fragile and fascinating world that most of us will never see . . . and it’s disappearing. Learn all about it before it’s too late. All About Antarctica is an inviting and exciting reading experience with brilliant color illustrations paired with bite-sized facts on every page. A thrilling illustrated adventure that allows readers to get a deeper understanding of this unique place and learn about the global importance of the southernmost continent. Offering a look at the world of Antarctica, a place where curiosity meets science. Great for readers ages five to ninety-five! From colossal squids and active volcanoes to research vessels and cricket matches, there’s a lot more to the South Pole than just penguins and icebergs (though there are also a lot of penguins and icebergs). Learn how humans survive in the coldest, driest, windiest place on Earth and discover what surprises await in this endlessly fascinating book. Publisher blurb.
BONUS - if you would like to own an original piece of art from Marc Martin IBBY Australia are running a fund raiser art auction and YES we have a beautiful image from this book!
