Imagine visiting a country that gets more than 2.3 million visitors a year, more than the whole country has as it’s population, and falling in love with a “flying football”. Put those two loves together and you get an engaging series entitled Iceland: The Puffin Explorers by RA Anderson. Three books thus far in this series extolling the virtues of puffins and the land they live in. Join me in this review, won’t you?
What I am Reviewing
Ascot Media was kind enough to send me the entire series of Iceland: the Puffin Explories Series. The three books in the series are
Written by RA Anderson, who also wrote the “if pets could talk” series, she gears this series to children up to grade two. My Favourite Books Publishing Company put together these three books that average 70 pages each.
Each book centres around young puffin Arni and his friend Birta. As they look for various things they also learn a lot about Iceland.
The Details
You will find every page filled with brightly coloured images and good clear text. The text is great size for reading to singles or a group. Please note these adorable puffin footy-prints running throughout the pages.
Most pages that Arni, Birta or puffin parents talking about things they see, the concerns they have, etc. These words are always italicized and in rhyme.
The author adds tidbits of learning with cutouts borded in orange. You will learn facts such as statistics, puffin details, green power in Iceland, and cultural information. They even brought in Icelandic words such as lopi, tog, thel, and tolt.
The Individual Books
Puffins Take Flight
Puffins take flight introduces us to Pabbi (Arni’s dad), Arni, Birta and Arni’s mother. Arni is up for an exploration but his best pal Birta is missing! In this first book we predominately learn all about puffins, from how they walk, fledge, nest, their predators and more.
Did you know there were four types of puffins? It was news to me as well. These books are definitely not just for youth up to grade two, if you are interested in puffins and/or Iceland these books are a treasure trove of information for one and all.
Puffins off the Beaten Path
In Puffins off the beaten path, Arni and his best friend Birta are looking for two lost sheep. These twins need to get back to their mama and these two puffins are determined to help!
Along the way we learn more about puffins, and a lot about Iceland. Learning about farming and sheep, horses, swans, foxes, turf homes and more. You’ll pick up some Icelandic language along the way.
Puffins Encounter Fire & Ice
Puffins Encounter Fire & Ice is the last book in the series. Arni and Birta are off for one last land adventure before they head off to sea for the next four years.
Arni and Birta will discover glaciers, volcanoes and natural energy. They will learn about some of the Iceland’s legendary folk. You’ll see beautiful pictures of waterfalls, lighthouses, and wildlife.
Recommendation
I found these books to be simply fantastic. Most of the pictures are unique to each book but I did find some puffins duplicates. The full colour images, the interesting and varied facts about both puffins and Iceland, make for a compelling read.
The large font size makes it easier for adult and child alike to read. I could easily see letting the child read the puffin conversation while the adult reads the factual bits.
The author mentioned that the pictures in the book were of adult puffins, not immature ones like Arni and Birta would have been.
How lovely! These would be a neat set of books to read with my youngest in her study of birds this year.
I think she would really like them. I hope you can find them.