There’s nothing like reading that makes certain things stick vividly in my mind.

Like, I finally remember that the Antarctic and the Arctic refer to the South and North poles respectively. That there are 17 species of penguins in total. 4 such species live in the Antarctic, including the Emperor, Adelie and Chinstraps. That penguins eat krill and squid, and leopard seals and killer whales eat penguins (perfect for teaching of food chains) That the feathers of penguins contain a special oil that helps them keep warm. (In my years as a Science teacher, that has never come up!) I expected to read about tobogganing, but that didn’t come up. Instead, I learnt about porpoising, which refers to penguins leaping out of the water like porpoises. Doing so allows them to move faster since air resistance is less than water resistance. And this is still applicable for penguins whose bodies have been streamlined like torpedoes to cut through the water - I learnt this from visiting the Bird Paradise. That male penguins huddle together to reduce the exposed surface area of their bodies to the cold and hence, keep their eggs warm.

I also read about snow blindness and how the sun never sets during summer in the Antarctic and katabatic winds. But note that I don’t elaborate on them because it is not in the PSLE curriculum haha. Fun to know, nonetheless.

Anyway, I extracted many facts from this book but I think there’s nothing like reading it and going on a journey with the Magic School Bus. My boy can’t read much yet, but I intend to take him to Bird Paradise this March holidays (free tickets from my workplace!) and use this book as a supplementary educational material!