Angela’s Glacier

An enduring relationship forged with nature is poetically explored in this picture book written by Governor General’s Literary Award nominee Jordan Scott.

When Angela is born, a magnificent Icelandic glacier comes into view. Her father wraps her in a blanket, holds her in his arms “carefully, like a fragile icicle,” and promises to take her to see the ancient ice of the Snæfellsjökull glacier. True to his word, Angela’s father carries her on his back on daily hiking trips to the glacier’s “ice-blue heart”. The infant listens to the glacier and is contentedly swaddled “in this universe of sound”. With every step, her father recites the glacier’s name: SNÆ (LEFT FOOT) FELLS (RIGHT FOOT) JÖ (LEFT FOOT) KULL (RIGHT FOOT) until Angela knows it by heart.

When Angela gets older, she starts making the daily trek by herself. She pays poetic attention to the temperature, colours, sound and feel of the ice. In a full body and mind sensory experience, she rubs her hands on the “bumps and cracks of the glacier’s skin”. Recognizing a trusted kinship, she also confides her secret fears and worries to Snæfellsjökull. As the years melt away, Angela gets busier with homework, friends and soccer practice and neglects to visit her glacier. However, the distance between them hurts her heart. Putting on her walking shoes, Angela reunites with her beloved glacier and makes a vow: “I WILL ALWAYS VISIT. I WILL ALWAYS LISTEN.”

The beauty of the Icelandic landscape is on spectacular display in Diana Sudyka’s atmospheric gouache watercolour illustrations. Crisp shades of indigo and “duck-egg blue” swirl about the pages. Background details include Arctic flora and fauna, including pixie lichen and chocolate-brown foxes. The loving relationship between the father and daughter, as well as the close relationship between the family and the glacier, are both warmly conveyed.
A deep respect for nature is clearly communicated in the lyrical text and enchanting artwork. The book begins with a pronunciation guide: “SNÆ means Snow’s pronounced SNY, rhymes why SHY or SIGH.” An end note from Jordan Scott explains this book is inspired by his friend, Angela Rawlings, who taught him “to be still and listen” with his entire body. A note from Rawlings is also included and provides more information about glaciers, in general, and a deeply-felt explanation of why she loves Snæfellsjökull in particular. She offers a sobering warning: “Due to global warming, glaciologists now predict that Snæfellsjökull will become extinct in the next fifteen to twenty years.”