| Summary: | This literature review samples the English-language juvenile fiction involving Antarctica, and looks at the representation of the continent in that fiction. It discovers that picture books largely have a simplistic representation of the continent, and generally portray it as a home for anthropomorphised penguins. As the readingage of the books increases, the depiction gets more complex, and more human-oriented. The children's and young adult fiction have fairly wide-ranging depictions of Antarctica, showing it as a continent for adventure, science, tourism, or exploration. They also explore both historical and modern representations of the continent. It is interesting that very few of the books portray Antarctica as a continent for both science and peace (the two stated goals of the Antarctic Treaty (AT)), nor is environmentalism significant in the majority of the books (an important facet of the modern Antarctic Treaty System). It is also interesting to see the change in attitudes towards Antarctica, as reflected in works of fiction. Earlier books represent the continent as somewhere for exploration and/or exploitation. As time passes, the attitudes towards the Antarctic change. In the recent books it is mostly depicted as a place for tourism and science.
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