“Funny and hopeful, realistic and wistful, this is an informational book to inspire dreamers and scientists alike. A book you simply won’t want to miss.” - Betsy Bird, FUSE 8, School Library Journal

MY ANTARCTICA

by G. Neri, Illustrated by Corban Wilkin

Candlewick Press | 96 Pages | ages 7-10 years

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Follow Printz and Coretta Scott King Award–winning author G. Neri to the end of the world in a captivating travel memoir that explores Antarctica through the curiosity and wonder of his inner child—the kid who dreamed of one day becoming an explorer.

Antarctica is a land of extremes—the coldest, windiest, highest, and driest place on the planet. It’s a world where the sun stays hidden half of the year and where visitors must undergo a week of special training before it’s safe to go outside (watch out for lava bombs!). It’s also a place of stark beauty, history, and endless scientific research. Join beloved author G. Neri on his long-dreamed-of voyage to the ice, where he taps into his inner child and encounters sea angels, mummified seals, space robots, inquisitive penguins, and so much more. Abundant full-color photographs (many by the author) and annotated comics and illustrations from Corban Wilkin depict an unforgettable stay in a land of baffling mysteries to uncover, epic questions to ponder, and bigger-than-life stories to tell. Robust back matter includes more facts and history, recommended source material, and answers to questions about everything from logistics (how do you sleep?) to cool science (why is Blood Falls red?). This eye-opening, information-packed memoir—shaped by the author’s visits with school groups upon his return—sparkles with his heartfelt journey of discovery.

ARTICLE: A Children’s Book Author Journeys to Antarctica

PRAISE FOR MY ANTARCTICA

A Junior Library Guild selection

“Delightful, fantastic, and downright original. Let’s just stop a moment to appreciate how little any of us regular joes actually knows about Antarctica. And that, right there, is the true joy and thrill of this book. You simply cannot turn even a single page without learning a new fact. First off, it’s not small. This 92-page book is filled to the brim with colorful photographs, graphs, maps, illustrations, you name it. In making this book, Greg’s creating a new way to inspire kids to have dreams they might never have thought to have before. And his enthusiasm just bubbles off the page. You’d be helpless to resist it!” - Betsy Bird, Fuse 8, SLJ

(Starred review) “Neri investigates the fantastical, foreboding desert of Antarctica in a dynamically illustrated travelogue with appeal as vast as that inhospitable terrain. Through the text's easy banter and welcoming tone, Neri captures the collegial, camp-like atmosphere of the research base, making its geographic remoteness unexpectedly accessible. Although notable historic explorers appear for context, Neri emphasizes the staggering variety of modern research projects and practical details of daily existence (including toilet designs) in order to safely execute them. Wilkin digitally overlays cartoon images of Neri and comic-style details onto insightful, often stunning photographs above and below the ice, welding humor to stoke a powerful sense of place. With strong back matter, this high-interest nonfiction field guide celebrates curiosity and offers a fascinating snapshot of daily life in an icy wonderland. Recommended for all collections.” -Booklist

(Starred review) “A lively and revealing visit to our remotest continent. Childhood dreams of being an explorer went nowhere, Neri writes, but as an adult, he had a chance to realize his ambitions by taking a grant-funded trip to Antarctica. Along with other artists and writers, he joined researchers (“mostly white, but I see a few folks of color like me”) living and working at McMurdo Station to record discoveries and impressions. Funny and informative as his comments are, though, it’s his photos, which are joined by others drawn from a multitude of sources and mounted here as snapshots, that really bring the forbidding locale to life…particularly since Wilkin enhances many of them with superimposed cartoon images that catch the author looking on as scientists engage in a range of specifically described projects, meeting penguins, imagining flights over rapidly melting ice, urgently surveying a photo gallery of outdoor loos (brrr), and, all too soon, cheerily waving goodbye. Maps, galleries of rugged vehicles and outerwear, lists of things visitors to the station will find (a coffee shop, an ATM) and won’t (polar bears, guns), and multiple closing factual roundups will give armchair travelers all the more incentive to put trips to the still largely unexplored continent on their bucket lists. Warm memories of really cold places and the people who brave them for science.” - KIRKUS

“This delightful travel diary [is filled] with the enthusiasm and glee of a kid in a toy store—or in this case, a grown-up finally realizing his childhood dream. Cartoony illustrations and dialogue bubbles are set against full-color photographs, with Neri the primary figure, sketched with zigzagged lines and dappled textures that easily convey his childish wonder as he works with different scientists. The composition also has the neat effect of highlighting Neri’s everyman persona against a place of extremes, emphasizing the pure grandeur of the icy world. Neri’s zippy narration is… easily accessible, all with a touch of humor.”- Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books

“With down-to-earth prose, Neri narrates an eye-opening trip to Antarctica in this scrapbook-like travelog. Throughout, an easy, candid tone keeps the focus on self-aware observations, touching occasionally on the complex science occurring around him. Comics-style panels, maps, and diagrams help communicate environmental extremes, while numerous lists offer a kid’s-eye view of the place. Wilkin’s wash- and pencil-style digital sketches of Neri and others mingle among dozens of photos for an on-the-go effect that keeps pages turning in this modern account of an extraordinarily extreme landscape.” - Publishers Weekly

“Antarctica conjures up pictures of extreme environments and desolate landscapes. For Neri, winner of a Coretta Scott King Honor for Yummy, traveling to ­Antarctica fulfilled a childhood dream of exploring a far-off land vastly different from his Los Angeles upbringing. The accessible and conversational tone, and beautifully crisp photos, tell the story of his remarkable expedition. Wilkin’s cartoon line drawings overlay the photos and bring depth and humor to the pictures.” -School Library Journal

SO, I WENT TO ANTARCTICA!

On October  2017, I went to Antarctica as part of a National Science Foundation grant for Artists and Writers! For 7 weeks, I was embedded with scientists in various locations on the mysterious 7th continent, ranging from McMurdo Station, the main U.S. outpost near Mt. Erebus (the southern most active volcano), to Cape Royds, home of the largest colony of penguins (and Shackleton's hut) to the Dry Valleys, the most extreme desert on earth.

I am currently the co-chair of the Antarctic Artists and Writers Collective. Check out the incredible work of my fellow AAWs here:

LINK: www.aawcollective.com.

PODCAST: Greg talks about his experience in Antarctica!

VIDEO: Greg walks through dino exhibit at Houston Science Center

If your interested in my STEM program school visit, look here for costs and email me!

Why Antarctica?

Because it's there. Also, because it's been a long time dream to go there ever since a school mate from college got a chance to dive under the Ross Ice Shelf as a marine biologist studying Forams (more on that later). Unfortunately, he perished in a diving accident, a tragically poetic end to his dream. I have been haunted by the place ever since, hoping to one day visit the last remaining place on earth with unexplored regions.

From this trip came two projects. The first was The Time Traveling Dino Detectives of Antarctica!

The Time Traveling Dino Detectives of Antarctica!

by G. Neri and Corban Wilkin

24pp Comic book, ages 7 and up

BUY E-COMIC BOOK $5.99

What happens when two kids get sucked into a vortex that sends them to the coldest, windiest, most extreme place on earth?

Antarctica! Adventure! Dinosaurs! That’s what.

Time travel back 270 million years ago in search of the dinosaurs of Gondwana, the lost forests of Pangaea, and the origins of the polar desert known as Antarctica! With a talking penguin and seal in tow, these two kids are in for the time of their lives. They may even meet an Elvis-singing dinosaur if they’re lucky!

WHO’S IN?

Created as a companion piece to the Giant Screen film, DINOSAURS OF ANTARCTICA, and the museum exhibition, ANTARCTIC DINOSAURS, DINO DETECTIVES explores the geographical history of Antarctica through its dinosaurs and climate changes.

Written by G. Neri and illustrated by Corban Wilkin, the team behind the acclaimed graphic novel, Grand Theft Horse.

SPECIAL ORDER CLASSROOM SETS with discounts on orders of 30 copies and up!

Inquiries, email me: greg@gregneri.com