Polar Bear

April in the Arctic . . . / Cold winds send snow clouds scuttling across the sky. / Temperatures barely nudge above freezing. / But every now and again, / The cloud cover parts, / The sun shines down, /
And the frozen world stretches awake.

As spring approaches in the Arctic, a mother polar bear and her two cubs tentatively emerge from hibernation to explore the changing landscape. When it is time, she takes her cubs on a forty-mile journey, back to their home on the ice. Along the way, she fends off wolves, hunts for food, and swims miles and miles. 

While hunting for seals, Mother and the cubs move “to the edge of the ice” but “the ice breaks off and is carried out / far out, / into open water.” This section increases suspense, not only by showing Mother’s worried facial expression but also by having a two-page pull-out that shows the bears swimming, surrounded completely by water. Reader’s hearts will pound as they watch Mother try to get her cubs to safety. And readers will rejoice when the bears finally reach safety and curl up to sleep.  

Polar Bears is a beautifully illustrated picture book that follows a mother polar bear and her cubs. Using soft blues, browns, and whites, the artist’s oil paintings show the magical world of the polar bears. Readers will fall in love with the adorably cute polar bear cubs as they grow.   

Even though Polar Bears is a picture book, the book will appeal to older readers who want to learn more about polar bears. Younger readers will need the book read to them instead of reading it independently. Adults will need to explain some of the words—such as striding, fractured, and gorged—to younger readers. The book’s font is oversized and has rich, descriptive imagery that brings the events to life. However, many of the pages are text-heavy and have up to 15 short sentences.   

The back of the book includes a page and a half titled “It’s All About the Ice” – this section explains why polar bears need ice to survive. It also explains what is happening due to global warming, and how readers can make small changes to help polar bears. In addition, there are ten cool facts about polar bears and a two-page infographic that shows polar bears’ physical features.  

Polar Bears is the perfect picture book for readers of all ages who love polar bears. While the book can be read for enjoyment, adults and teachers can also use Polar Bears to teach readers about the polar bears’ habitat and life cycles. In addition, the back of the book includes information that can be used to teach how global warming is harming polar bears. The combination of beautiful illustrations and polar bear facts makes Polar Bears a book that will melt reader’s hearts and encourage them to make small changes to keep polar bears healthy and happy. 

Sexual Content  

• None

Violence  

• Two wolves try to eat the baby polar bears. The wolves “are circling for an attack. Mother grunts for the cubs to keep close. The wolves inch nearer. . . Hissing, [Mother polar bear] rises up her full height—all seven feet of her. . . She growls. The wolves stop. Look. Lope away.”  
• It is mentioned that polar bears eat seals.

Drugs and Alcohol  

• None 

Language  

• None 

Supernatural 

• None 

Spiritual Content  

• None