Claire Eamer

Author bio

Claire holds two degrees in English and mainly writes about science and history. She is the author of multiple books for kids and young adults including Before The World Was Ready, The World in Your Lunch Box, Lizards in the Sky, and Spiked Scorpions & Walking Whales. In 2014 she won the prestigious Lane Anderson Award for science writing in the young readers category. Photo by Rick Massie

Claire Eamer’s Contributions:

illustration showing a child riding a killer whale's spout

Storybook Whale Fail

Does it matter if children’s books deliver inaccurate science?

Mar 22, 2018 | 1,400 words, about 7 minutes

Book Review: Seawomen of Iceland

For centuries, Icelandic women have been some of the world’s hardiest, and hardest-working, fishing captains. Anthropologist Margaret Willson gathers their stories and achievements.

Jan 27, 2017 | 450 words, about 2 minutes

Cut marks in the jaw bone of a now-extinct Yukon horse serve as evidence that humans occupied the Bluefish Caves in Yukon, Canada, tens of thousands of years ago. Photo by Bourgeon et al.

Archaeological Find Puts Humans in North America 10,000 Years Earlier Than Thought

New evidence suggests human presence in a Yukon cave during the last ice age 24,000 years ago.

Jan 13, 2017 | 800 words, about 4 minutes

Mermaids have not always been depicted as beguiling, long-haired beauties. Photo courtesy of Buxton Museum and Art Gallery, Derbyshire County Council

The Ugly Mermaid

Long before Mary Shelley dreamed up Frankenstein, Japanese fishermen were cobbling together the ugliest mermaid monsters you’ll ever see.

Oct 28, 2016 | 1,100 words, about 5 minutes

The Canadian Arctic Remains Dangerously Unmapped

Arctic waters are increasingly ice free, but a lack of seafloor mapping means navigating the region is still risky.

May 6, 2016 | 450 words, about 2 minutes

Fosen Folk High School students sailing a square-sail-rigged boat in the Trondheim Fjord. Square sails were the norm in Viking days. Photo by Claire Eamer

No Wool, No Vikings

The fleece that launched 1,000 ships.

Feb 23, 2016 | 3,700 words, about 18 minutes

In one Icelandic community, wild rockweed is an economic blessing. Seasonally, workers harvest, dry, and export wild rockweed for animal feed. Photo by Ralph Lee Hopkins/Getty

Seaweed Economics 101: Boom and Bust in the North Atlantic

Coastal communities have watched the economic pendulum—and their futures—swing wildly when it comes to relying on seaweed as an industry. Is there a better way?

Jan 5, 2016 | 3,500 words, about 17 minutes

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