Anita Wilson
The Ice Pack
When Fox notices his den is melting and sees ptarmigans wearing sunshades and shorts flocking to the beach he knows something's terribly amiss.
He and Bear, the coolest bear in the Arctic, their learned friend Snowy Owl, Otter a scientist from the North Pole Research Insitute and Puffin, a fantastic cook and charming host, decide to take action.
They send out invitations with Peregrine's Postal Service, hire lemmings to build an Ice Palace, hold an ICON (ice conference) to find out why their homes are melting and work out an action plan to save their ice.
This is the story of how the animals of the Arctic and Antarctic get themselves organised and say "no" to global warming.
Anita Wilson-Kofler was born in Colchester, Essex. She works as a free-lance translator and interpreter and teaches at the University of Innsbruck. She lives with her husband and daughter in Innsbruck. This is her first book.
It was one of those lazy, sleep-in Sundays. Fox was dreaming of the most beautiful lady fox in the Arctic when he was abruptly woken by a cold drop of water.
“It’s just a drop,” he thought to himself, “dream on,” but the water continued to drop, drippety drop onto his forehead.
“What a nuisance!” he mumbled as he energetically swung his feet round and jumped up from the bed. “My neighbours are always forgetting to turn off the tap.”
But when he looked around his smart bachelor’s den, his lower jaw dropped in horror. The ceiling and walls were melting. He turned on the radio just in time to hear the weather forecast.
And as he heard those words he looked out of the window and saw a few silly ptarmigans, wearing sunshades and shorts, carrying deckchairs and umbrellas, on their way to the seaside.
“This is ridiculous. We’re in the Arctic. Something must be wrong with the weather. I’ll go to see Owl, she knows everything.”
Without more ado, Fox put on his jacket and slammed the door shut. On his way to Owl’s house, he met his good old friend the polar bear.
Now Bear was a cool bear from Alaska. He was always laid back and absolutely nothing could throw him. But even from afar Fox could see that something was amiss.
“What’s up, Bear?”
“Ssssuffering sssseaweed…” (Even the coolest bears stutter when they get upset.)
“What’s wrong?” asked Fox.
“Mmmmmy ffffish lllllolies…”
Fox tried to help: “You’ve run out?”
“Nnnnno,…”
“The seals sneaked onto your floe and gobbled them up?”
“Nnnnno,…”
“You can’t fit any more in your freezer?”
The silliness of this last remark made Bear lose his stutter.
“Don’t be daft, they’ve melted.”
“They’ve what?”
“They’ve melted. My whole winter stock’s melted and the fish have gone rotten.”
Bear felt a lot better now that he had got it off his chest.
“But where are you going in such a hurry?” asked Bear.
“My den’s melting and I’m off to see Owl. She’s bound to have an explanation for all this.”
“Holy mackerel! Mind if I tag along?” asked Bear.
