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Angela's Glacier
Gorgeous gouache illustrations and poetic text speak to the beauty and bond offered by nature. Inspired by his friend’s connection with a glacier in Iceland, author Jordan Scott tells the story of a young girl’s early relationship with the environment. Angela and her dad (both white) live near Snæfellsjökull, a huge, ancient glacier in Iceland. When Angela is born, her father takes her outside to see the glacier in the distance, and before she learns to walk, she rides on her father’s back as he hikes up it. “They walked through snowfields thick like pancakes to the glacier’s ice-blue heart. Angela listened to the glacier. Her father held her still in this universe of sound.” As Angela gets older, she walks up the glacier herself, touching the ice, listening, and whispering to it. When she gets older still, and her days get busier, something about her heart sounds strange. Her dad suggests visiting Snæfellsjökull. She makes a promise to the glacier that she will always visit and always listen, and that night, her heartbeat sounds like the name of the glacier: snæ fells jö kull snæ fells jö kull. An Icelandic pronunciation guide and afterword provide context and meaning to this quiet but powerful story about the sounds and impact of nature on human lives. ©2025 Cooperative Children’s Book Center
Illustrated by Diana Sudyka
CCBC Age Recommendation: Ages 6-10
Age Range:
PreK-Early Elementary (Ages 4-7)
Grades 3-5 (Ages 8-10)
Format:
Picture book
Subject:
Nature/Environment
Publishers:
Holiday House, Neal Porter Books
Publish Year: 2024
Pages: 40
ISBN: 9780823450824
CCBC Location: Picture Book, Scott