Just in Case: Saving Seeds in the Svalbard Global Seed Vault

by Megan Clendenan, Brittany Cicchese (Illustrator)

Overview

Psst . . . Guess what? 800 miles from the North Pole, buried deep in a mountain, the Svalbard Seed Vault holds priceless treasure. Seeds!

Perfect for 5-8-year-old future conservationalists, this is a fascinating glimpse into a unique conservation collection, highlighting the importance of natural resources and protecting planet Earth.

On the Arctic island of Spitsbergen in Norway, polar bears roam and there are no gardens, forests, or fields. But buried deep underground, the Svalbard Seed Bank protects more than 580 million seeds with plenty of room for more.

How and why was the vault built? What's it like inside? How does the vault protect the seeds? Learn about the rescue of the greatest treasure on earth--seeds for our food.

An inside look into the storage and history of one of our most important natural resources and how this collection can save our future.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781632894236
Publisher:	Charlesbridge
Publication date:	10/14/2025
Sold by:	Penguin Random House Publisher Services
Format:	eBook
Pages:	32
Age Range:	5 - 8 Years

About the Author

Megan Clendenan studied sociology, English, and environmental planning and has worked for nonprofit organizations focused on environmental law, women’s empowerment, mental health, and urban food security. As a children’s book author, she loves writing nonfiction that explores the connections between history, society, and the environment. She is the author of Design Like Nature: Biomimicry for a Healthy Planet, Fresh Air, Clean Water: Our Right to a Healthy Environment, and Cities: How Humans Live Together. She lives near Vancouver, British Columbia, with her family and two fuzzy orange cats. This is her first picture book.

Brittany Cicchese enjoys capturing emotion above all else, from expressive portraits to moody illustrations. She is the illustrator of The Kitten Story: A Mostly True Tale and No More Señora Mimí. When Brittany isn't sketching or writing, you can find her working at the library, reading a good fantasy or sci-fi book, or hiking around the beautiful Rocky Mountains. Brittany lives in Denver, Colorado. www.brittanycicchese.com

Editorial Reviews

In Svalbard, Norway, lies buried treasure.
Worries about climate change, war, and extinction led to the construction of the Svalbard Global Seed Vault. Here, on an Arctic island, in “the belly of a mountain,” duplicates from seed banks around the world are stored, preserved for the future, should the need for them arise. Clendenan carefully outlines the purpose and creation of this protected collection. Her relatively simple text is accompanied by sidebars offering more detail on the challenges of transporting seeds, the difficulty of constructing the vault (workers had to be vigilant for roaming polar bears), and more. Ciccese’s appealing illustrations signal the Arctic cold with shades of blue; a diverse workforce is bundled up against the frigid temperatures. In scenes depicting warmer climates, reds, greens, and browns abound as an equally diverse set of humans collect seeds, plant them, and enjoy the crops. Clendenan stresses that this is a truly international project: “Inside the vault, a walk down the aisles becomes a walk through the world.” Younger readers may not entirely understand the need for the collection but will surely be engaged by the process; construction enthusiasts will especially appreciate the spreads focusing on the machines from around the world brought to this isolated place to bore into the mountain. Even the seed packets are designed to be nearly indestructible.
A fascinating tale of conservation at its most creative.
—Kirkus Reviews

From the Publisher

2025-06-13
In Svalbard, Norway, lies buried treasure.

Worries about climate change, war, and extinction led to the construction of the Svalbard Global Seed Vault. Here, on an Arctic island, in “the belly of a mountain,” duplicates from seed banks around the world are stored, preserved for the future, should the need for them arise. Clendenan carefully outlines the purpose and creation of this protected collection. Her relatively simple text is accompanied by sidebars offering more detail on the challenges of transporting seeds, the difficulty of constructing the vault (workers had to be vigilant for roaming polar bears), and more. Cicchese's appealing illustrations signal the Arctic cold with shades of blue; a diverse workforce is bundled up against the frigid temperatures. In scenes depicting warmer climates, reds, greens, and browns abound as an equally diverse set of humans collect seeds, plant them, and enjoy the crops. Clendenan stresses that this is a truly international project: “Inside the vault, a walk down the aisles becomes a walk through the world.” Younger readers may not entirely understand the need for the collection but will surely be engaged by the process; construction enthusiasts will especially appreciate the spreads focusing on the machines from around the world brought to this isolated place to bore into the mountain. Even the seed packets are designed to be nearly indestructible.

A fascinating tale of conservation at its most creative. (more about seeds and seed banks, author’s note, resources for kids, selected bibliography)(Informational picture book. 6-9)

Kirkus Reviews