Book cover image from Amazon.com
BODIES FROM THE ICE: MELTING GLACIERS AND THE RECOVERY OF THE PAST
1. BIBLIOGRAPHY
Deem, James M. 2008. BODIES FROM THE ICE: MELTING GLACIERS AND THE RECOVERY OF THE PAST. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company. ISBN 9780618800452.
2. BOOK SUMMARY
Imagine that you have reached the summit of a glacial mountain and are triumphantly climbing down only to notice what looks like trash from other climbers, but upon closer inspection you discover human remains. The mummified remains are studied and discovered to be thousands of years old.
As the glaciers in the world melt, more and more of the terrain is being exposed along with artifacts and remains of various missing people from long ago. Deem takes the reader through the Alps to a North American glacier, where different human bodies have been found. There is even a chapter on the Andes where may frozen children have been found, used in sacrificial ceremonies to "appease their gods".The final part of this informational book is a plea to save the findings of the past by thinking about the future of our environment.
3. CRITICAL ANALYSIS
Each page is a visual feast for the eyes because “The book is full of colorful photographs and paintings of the various glaciers and the bodies and artifacts buried in them, many of which take up over half a page, letting the reader experience the beauty of glaciers as and the wonders they have entombed”(Children’s Literature). The text is not just fact after fact and glacier after glacier, but the reader is drawn in as each discovery is explained and given the human touch to it. The explanation of how the glaciers form and move: “Deem discusses how glaciers operate like “a giant conveyor belt—essentially a moving river of ice.” With force and power, glaciers churn up, and turn up, mountain debris. This debris sometimes includes human remains that offer amazing insights into the past” (Children’s Literature).
While the some of the visuals could be disturbing “Moving quickly beyond the sensationalism of each gruesome discovery, Deem carefully considers the terrain, ice formations, and glacial movement that variously entrap and preserve, or displace and dismember human remains”( The Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books).
While many of the pages contained sidebars of extra information, one of the most significant occurred near the end of the book. The reader is give “Personal Ways to Help the Environment”. The book ends with a list of glaciers to visit, suggested websites, acknowledgements and bibliography, illustration credits, and an index.
The seven chapters divide the book but also make it easy for the reader to choose where he/she would like to start. I began with “Chapter 4: Frozen Children of the Andes”.
4. AWARDS AND HONORS
2008 Kirkus Best children's Books
2009 National Science Teacher Association's Outstanding Trade Books for Students K-12
2009 Robert F. Sibert Informational Book Medal Honor Book
5. REVIEW EXCERPTS
From Booklist: "There are books about melting glaciers and books about frozen bodies, but this attractive offering combines the topics in a way that will intrigue readers."
From Kirkus Reviews: "An intriguing read ... with a bonus environmental message."
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