An unusual and curious children’s picture book

by Laurie Bluedorn | Five in a Row Curriculum, Homeschooling | 1 comment

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This week’s Five in a Row book is Very Last First Time by Jan Andrews, illustrated by Ian Wallace.

This little children’s picture book is based on a subject so unusual and curious that it might spark a lengthy study for the entire family.

High-Risk Mussel Gathering

In Arctic Canada, every two weeks the pull of the moon combines with the geography of this region to create unusually large tides. In the coldest months, when the tides are extremely low and the ice that coats the Arctic sea is thickest, the water can fall as much as 55 feet in some places, emptying the bay under the ice along the shore for an hour or more. The frozen ice drops with the outgoing tide and rests on the ocean beach and rises again with the fast moving incoming tide. While resting on the bottom when the tide is out, the ice leaves large caves and tunnels under the ice and the seabed is exposed.

The Inuit, the people of that area, wait for the tide to go out, go out onto the bay, and dig a tunnel down through the ice to get to the sandy beach underneath. They quickly search with lights for food — fat and juicy mussels. They have to work very fast to avoid being trapped by the incoming water — the tide stays out less than an hour. The work is very dangerous.

https://youtu.be/Z0qGvC3vqaA