In this time of severe changes in weather, international conflicts and concern about the environment due to man made interferences, have you considered the complex challenges confronted by plants? More specifically, what happens to the seeds that hold the future of our physical environment, food sources and economic survival amidst a crisis that could endanger and make extinct these valuable resources? The notion of seed banks in general and their importance to our future is a topic not often pursued, even in circles of those concerned about the environment. The focus of Just in Case: Saving Seeds in the Svalbard Global Seed Vault is on the building and use of this amazing creation.
Just in Case tells of a little known but extremely important plan to provide a protective space to house seeds from around the world. The most recent winner of the Orbis Pictus Award for nonfiction, it holds insights into biology, geography and ecology in a clearly detailed description of why and how this seed vault was created.
Stepping back thousands of years, author Megan Clendenan shares that over generations, people have saved new seeds for the future. She explains in simple text that seeds are history and the future and could become extinct just like animals. Along with the simple narrative, she includes on each page spread scientific support for this topic. Scientists and many farmers know that due to environmental changes, when seeds are not used and not saved, they are lost. As a result, there are 1700 seed banks around the world, critical to preservation of seeds although not all are in safe places. The Svalbard Global Seed Vault was built to house duplicates of every seed housed around the globe. Just in Case tells of planning this seed vault in the middle of a frozen mountain just 800 miles from the North Pole, constructing it with imported machinery through Arctic weather and frozen waterways, and the challenges of building this room more than 100 meters inside rock that is 6o meters thick. Construction began in April 2007, and it opened in February 2008. Packets holding 500 seeds each were sent to the vault from around the world.
An Authors Note provides even further information about the work being done with seeds – preserving for future changes in the environment or social challenges. Clendenan shares that as of 2023, the vault houses 1.2 million seed varieties. She also provides a comprehensive bibliography and separate list of resources for kids.
Brittany Cicchese, the illustrator for Just in Case, has provided a color palette of blues, whites and violets in keeping with the Arctic frigid cold while portraying the sources of the seeds in warmer colors of various farmlands. Not to be missed is the cover of the book after removing the attractive dust jacket. The book cover is in earthy tones depicting shelves containing different seed varieties. Cicchese lives in Denver, Colorado and has experience working in public libraries. She has illustrated The Kitten Story: A Mostly True Tale and No More Señora Mimí.
This is the first picturebook for author Megan Clendenan, who lives in British Columbia, although she has focused on other books for young readers on topics involving the environment to include Design Like Nature: Biomimicry for a Healthy Planet, Fresh Air, Clean Water: Our Right to a Healthy Environment.–Recommended by Janelle Mathis, Professor Emeritus, University of North Texas
Title: Just in Case, Saving Seeds in the Svalbard Global Seed Vault
Author: Megan Clendenan
Illustrator: Brittany Cicchese
ISBN: 978162354
PubDate: October 14, 2025
Publisher: Charlesbridge
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- Themes: Brittany Cicchese, Janelle Mathis, Just in Case, Megan Clendenan
- Descriptors: WOW Recommends