Twins are born to a family living in the Arctic. As they grow, they learn about some of the fascinating animals that survive there: They watch the weird and wonderful Hooded Seal blowing out its pink display palate through its nostril and the Killer Whale chasing the beautifully-patterned Ribbon and Harp Seals. They realise that there are many life forms and colours to be found in their cold, white land. However, when they find some sinister evidence of climate change, it suddenly becomes imperative that they discover the colour Green. Only their grandparents have seen this strange colour before, shimmering on the back of a very peculiar fish...It is only they who can solve the ancient riddle of how the colour Green really can make the colour White!
Come and join this brave family on their mythical journey of discovery. Learn about the perfectly-evolved ecological balance that keeps the poles of our world white and cold and full of biodiversity and find out how we can all help save the Earth from the threats of climate change.
Being part fantasy, part reality makes this book a useful tool in cross-curricular education. It can be used as a link, or launching-pad into science and geography projects for the 7 to 11 year age group; or can be read more generally for thought-provoking assemblies, or simply kept for story time.
Afra Kingdon is a primary school teacher and author. She loves looking at plants and animals, learning about natural history and teaching kids about conservation, art and poetry. To her regret, she has never been to either of the 2 poles but she has sat, like a microbe, in a hot, dripping rainforest in the middle of the world. Crouching there, as the world spun, (as worlds do) she got to thinking about the Arctic and Antarctica and why they were so very dry, snowy and white and why the place she was sitting in was not... The result of these thoughts was 'Green makes White'. She wanted it to be a story for everybody - young and old - who sits upon this remarkable planet of ours.
Free resources to download
Quotes about the book:
“I fell in love instantly with 'Green makes White', to find pictures and words alive with the pulse of the natural world is a rare thing indeed. Beautifully illustrated and sung like an ancient myth, 'Green makes White' is a morality play for our times.” (Steve Backshall – BBC Natural History Presenter.)