Review: Sophie Scott Goes South

Antarctica!  Now there’s a place that is definitely on our bucket list, though I understand there is a long wait for a place on a cruise as it’s a place people want to visit over and over again.  Fortunately for Sophie, she doesn’t have to wait; she gets to travel on the icebreaker her dad captains.  She’s going to be on the boat for a month delivering people and supplies to Mawson Station and can’t wait to set sail with her dad.  Written as Sophie’s diary, the book is filled with childlike illustrations of the things she sees (great inspiration for your child’s travel diary), along with actual photographs and lots of facts about the conditions and wildlife. Her dad’s boat is the Aurora Australis, a real icebreaker out of Hobart, Australia.  As she begins her adventure, Sophie learns all the different names for things on the ship (like a window is a porthole), and shares her excitement at seeing her first icebergs (all of which get names), whales, different types of seals and penguins, and learns what it would be like to live at a scientific station with ropes between the buildings to make sure you don’t get lost walking between buildings during a blizzard!   She helps unpack the crazy amount of supplies they brought to the station (5400 eggs and 1645 tubs of ice cream) before it becomes unreachable for seven months and learns a little bit of history about the first explorers to reach the South pole before heading back to Australia-making sure to pack a bit of Antarctic ice for little her brother. Based on the author’s trip to Antarctica, Sophie Scott Goes South doesn’t read like a work of fiction but a real adventure with Sophie feeling alternately nervous and excited about her trip and all of the things she hopes to see.  This friendly, approachable introduction to Antarctica is a great addition to any adventure lover’s library. If you’d like to add Sophie Scott Goes South to your child’s library, click here:  Sophie Scott Goes...