Iceland

Enchantment of the World

by Barbara A. Somervill

This series meets National Curriculum Standard for: Social Studies: Culture Global Connections People, Places; Environments Production, Distribution, Consumption Time, Continuity, and Change.

Genres: Nonfiction, Travel

144 pages, Library Binding

First published March 1, 2003

About the author

Barbara Somervill is a professional writer who has been a magazine editor, journalist, and advertising copywriter for more than twenty years. Somervill is a member of the National Association of Female Executives, the Association of Women in Communications, and the International Documentary Association.

Reviews

[Amalie · Rating 4 out of 5]

What I learned...

About 100 million years ago, the American and Eurasian plates forming the Mid-Atlantic Ridge began to seperate. Magma from the Earth's liquid core seeped from a fissure where the plates parted and built Iceland.

Iceland's volcanic activity created around one-third of the lava on Earth in the past 500 years.

Iceland has more than 100 volcanos. Many lie hidden beneath massive ice caps underwater...virtually all Iceland's mountain peaks are volcanic.

The Icelandic landscape often resembles the moon's surface. Eldhraun, a lifeless sprawl of lava rock found near Laki, is so similar to the Moon's surface that Apollo 11 astronauts, the first men to walk on the Moon, trained for their moonwalks on Eldhraun's lava rock.

In 1963 Surtsey was formed by volcanic action beneath the sea. by 1987, Surtsey was full-sized island of 25 types of plants and five species of seabirds and many migrating birds.

According to legend, Iceland got its name from the Norwegians who called it 'island' (pronounced "eesland") or "ice land."

Vatnajökull - the largest glacier in Europe -covers 8,300 sq km of Iceland. Vatnajökull ice is more 900 metres thick.

About 85 percent of Iceland's homes and businesses are heated with geothemal energy.

Iceland's lakes are formed by volcanos and glaciers.

Iceland is home to more than 10 million puffins. About half of the population of Harbor seals live near or on Iceland.

Dettifoss in Northeast Iceland is the most powerful waterfall in Europe. One of its main water sources is Vatnajökull glacier.

Aurora borealis!

When the settlers first arrived in Iceland, they found only one mammal - the arctic fox. Icelandic horse was introduced by the Vikings. To protect these animals, Icelandic government does not allow horses to be imported into the country.

During Iceland's summers, the sun barely sets below the horizon. Likewise, on some winter days, the sun barely shines at all.

Unlike most countries, Icealnd's complete history is recorded. No prehistoric tribes, cave dwellers, or hunter gather clans lived there.

When a child is born in Iceland, names must be chosen from a government-approved list. Even foreigners who become citizens must have Icelandic names. Icelandic surnames are patronymic - means the surname tells who the father is. Everyone in Iceland is called by their first names, except the bishop and the president.

1 out of 10 Icelanders writes and publishes a book during his/her lifetime. Iceland prints and sells more books per person than any other country!!!

[David Corleto-Bales · Rating 5 out of 5]

Interesting book about Iceland, its history, culture, customs, cities, geographic features, with very interesting narrative about Iceland's past and literary figures. A "typical" Icelandic family is shown doing routine things. Another installment in the "Enchantment of the World" series.

[Sydney · Rating 3 out of 5]

My rating is 3.5. This book has lovely photos and all the basic information I needed to read before
traveling to Iceland. I was surprised to read that Iceland is splitting between the North American and Euro-Asian tectonic plates at the rate of an inch per year! The multitude of volcanos are along this line between the plates.

[Maureen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fun Facts I took away from this book. The Greek explorer Pytheas possibly sighted Iceland in 330 BCE. Irish monks arrived in 600-700 CE seeking a place to pray in peace. Reykjavik was founded in 874. Early Viking Voyages to and from Iceland and Greenland occurred between 800-1000, most significantly Erick the Red in 982 and his son Leif Erikson in 1000-1001. Althing, the first government was established in 930. Iceland fell under control of Norway in 1262 and later, Denmark. Iceland became an independent country in 1944. Iceland is home to mystery writer Arnaldur Indriðason who wrote Jar City, also known as Tainted Blood (Icelandic: Mýrin, "The Bog") which I read several years ago and liked. Although Jar City is a murder mystery, Iceland purportedly has one of the lowest crime rates in the world.

[Alison Whiteman · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a Scholastic book for young children and what, I presume, would interest them is information about people. I slogged my way along reading about glaciers and birds which was interesting, but anxiously awaited information about the people who live in Iceland. The author is a good writer with engaging use of language. Her editor failed to arrange it in an engaging manner.

[Letitia · Rating 4 out of 5]

I started using Enchantment of the World series when I had a contract in Kuwait, and the most useful and easiest to access information about the country came from this scholastic series. Now I pick them up before traveling all the time. This one was also great, highlighting rich literary tradition and natural phenomena.

[Sep · Rating 5 out of 5]

An overall view of Iceland suitable for a school library or a retired teacher contemplating a trip to Iceland.

[Fangyuan Ren · Rating 5 out of 5]

Unique geographic, such a different life people live because of that. Would love to visit this place someday!

[Lynn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Iceland, an island nation that sits in the North Atlantic Ocean, just below the Arctic Circle, is the subject of this book. With bright photographs and illustrations, the author presents Iceland in all of her pyroclastic glory. Topics presented include Iceland's: geography, history, culture, government, and people. The text presents the information in a very lucid and engaging manner, making this an ideal book for students conducting research.

[Kendra · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was helpful for my Iceland school project, because books written for children are good at explaining information simply. It had good descriptions of culture, which is difficult to find on the Internet. Some of its information was out of date, beware, because it was published in 2003. Overall it was very helpful.

[Jackie · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is not the book I intended to put on hold with the library. But it is what I got. A 4th grade social studies book. It'll make a good coffee table book for a few weeks and I can start learning about Iceland with the basics.

[Chrystal · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love this book. It has so much information about Iceland. I spent an hour reading the whole book and it was well worth it. This book provides the reader with all sorts of good info, whether you are interested in trekking, culture, food history, it has it all!

[Sara · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great learning resource about Iceland, especially for kids. Some of the information is already out of date, but it has plenty of color photographs, maps, and diagrams.

Did I mention that I can't wait to go back to Iceland? :D

[Beth · Rating 4 out of 5]

Yes, I totally just read this kid book to research my trip to Iceland. #KnowledgeIsPower

[Cindy · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was quite a good little book. It was very informative and well-researched. It's too bad it's for children, but it's still a good start for adults.

[A. · Rating 3 out of 5]

Another good basic summary of Iceland.