Follow the epic annual migration of an Arctic Tern on its sixty-thousand-mile journey to the South Pole and back again, the longest such migration in the animal kingdom.
In their thirty-year lifetimes, Arctic Terns travel nearly 1.5 million miles, that’s enough to fly to the Moon and back three times! Each year they brave blistering winds, storms, rough seas, and airborne predators as they travel between the Earth’s poles, chasing the summer. In The Longest Journey: An Arctic Tern’s Migration, we follow one such bird as it spreads its wings and sets out to make its first globe-spanning trip with its flock.
Amy Hevron is the illustrator of Trevor by Jim Averbeck, the recipient of multiple starred reviews. She also illustrated Candace Fleming’s The Tide Pool Waits which was the recipient of the Portfolio Honor Award from the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators. Her brilliant, naturalistic artwork mimicking maps and nautical charts is supported by extensive research and paired with material at the back of the book explaining the science behind the life cycle of Arctic Terns.
“More About Arctic Terns.” Suggestions for further reading. Selected bibliography. Full-color illustrations were made with acrylic and pencil on wood and digitally collaged.
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School Library Journal
K-Gr 3—The latest offering from Hevron recounts the journey an Arctic tern takes each year. With the resemblance of a poem, readers will be delighted to learn of this well-traveled species. Bite-size chunks of non-rhyming prose convey the 60,000-mile round-trip voyage an Arctic tern takes from Greenland to Antarctica and back. Charming illustrations display incredible craftsmanship and portray locations and wildlife these birds encounter throughout the journey. Within the illustrations, Hevron notes approximate dates of each stop to provide extra context for readers, allowing them to live vicariously through the travels of the Arctic tern. Included at the end is more information about terns, including their life stages, what they eat, and where to see them along their journey. Hevron also includes further reading options and the sources. This title could be considered a younger read-alike to Phillip Hoose's Moonbird, which focuses on the journey of Red Knots. VERDICT Young wildlife enthusiasts will thoroughly enjoy learning about the Arctic tern's annual trek in this recommended purchase for libraries with vast wildlife collections, especially those with a proclivity for literary nonfiction.—Kristin Unruh