Great Polar Bear

I seldom review children’s books due to a perpetual scarcity of reading time, but I was tempted away from my usual diet of literary fiction and serious biography by this enchanting tale of an Arctic polar bear.

Author and illustrator, Carolyn Lesser, seamlessly weaves scientific fact into her poetic narrative in such a way that it doesn’t anthropomorphise the beguiling but formidable creature. We follow him as he moves steadily across the tundra, sniffing the icy air with his sensitive nose, seeking a female. We see him sleeping beneath the snow as freezing winds rage above his head; and we smile as he play-fights with exuberant cubs. We also shudder when he seizes a seal emerging from a breathing hole, knowing the bear must do this to survive.

At the end of the book we discover some ‘Explorer’s Notes’ and a colourful map showing whereabouts in the world polar bears live. There are a couple of pages from the ‘Author’s Journal’ with photographs showing St Louis dwelling Lesser coming face to face (close enough to smell its fishy breath) with a “big male” in Canada’s Cape Churchill. She describes the experience as forming “every word and shred of hand-painted, cut paper” in her book.

Lesser’s superb artwork captures the beauty and power of the enormous Ursus maritimus and its pristine yet harsh environment. As a child, I would have loved reading this book and, had I done so, would have embarked on life a more knowledgeable adult. There is, however, plenty here for parents to learn about this magnificent, mysterious animal.

This is from an advance review copy for which I thank the publisher.

This was a beautifully-rendered (using elegantly torn paper) and charmingly-written novel for young children about the hard life of a polar bear. If I had a criticism I would say it was that climate change, while referenced in a note at the end of the book (which can be used as a talking-point with your child of course), wasn't really factored into the story. I felt it should have been because despite the liars who nay-say it, climate change is real, it's affecting people's lives now as well as the very existence of hundreds of species of plant and animal. It's already affecting Polar bears.

That said, this story tells, in gorgeously-written prose and pulling no punches, of the tough existence of this bear in the frozen north, sleeping in wind-sheltering snowdrifts for warmth, and hunting seals. It describes some of the means by which Polar bears stay warm, including the hollow hairs on their pelt. I think it might have gone more into the fact that it's getting harder for bears to find sufficient food as climate changes, but it does tell a stirring story and if it gets childrens' interest warmed to this icy, precarious life, then it will have served Polar bears well.

In the USA, as I write this, there is a movement - finally - to protect our schools from deranged people with automatic weapons. This is long overdue and shames our politicians that they love the NRA more than they do the lives of young children, but as many lives as are sacrificed to political self-interest and inertia, those lives, awfully tragic and irreplaceable as they are, are a tiny portion of what will be lost if climate change is not addressed. It is the most critical crisis facing humanity today, but selfish business interests are literally buying-off right-wing politicians and these callous, cynical low-lifes are sacrificing our children's future for short-term personal profit. They are also sacrificing nature, Polar bears along with it.

I would like to have seen climate changed addressed more directly here because Polar bears are utterly dependent on the ice-floes which are fast disappearing. While these magnificent animals are technically not considered endangered, they are rated as vulnerable and as the North Pole warms (it's thought that it will be ice-free by mid-century at the present rate of warming), their territory shrinks. If the North Pole melts, since it is already floating on the ocean, it will contribute little to sea-rise, but it will rob Polar bears of a major hunting ground. Because the Greenland ice sheet is all on land, if it melts, it will raise sea levels by over twenty feet. Coasts will be inundated and Polar bears will be left with nowhere to go.

If this book does anything to educate people, especially youngsters, about this crisis, then it will have served us well. I liked the book, loved the prose, found the images quite entrancing, and I highly recommend it.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. The illustrative artwork is beautiful and captures the life of a polar bear--isolated, dangerous, both plentiful and scarce, both beautiful and deadly. The text weaves a story that depicts the yearly life cycle. The attention to detail from the way the ice moves and cleaves to the way the northern lights ripple in the sky is amazing. Nothing is overlooked, glossed over or rushed past. The bear's story is not for the feint of heart from the death of the seals the bear and other animals feed on to the scarce days of the summer. The Explorer's Notes and Author's Journal section at the end are very informative. I was glad for the inclusion of the map depicting polar bear habitats. This would make a good addition to the library, but I wouldn't personally recommend it until the later elementary years.

This story is fiction, but it is scientifically accurate so it is close to a non-fiction book. It shows a year in the life of a full-grown male polar bear. It shows how he travels, hunts, eats, mates, helps teach the young to fight and gradually gets thinner and thinner as the seasons progress, until he starts over again. This book could easily be used when studying Arctic Animals, Ecosystems and Global warming and its affect on wildlife. The story is told in freeform poetry style which is very lyrical and easy to read. The illustrations are wonderful. They are torn paper with some painting. A great addition to a public, school or class library. The publisher generously provided me with a copy of this book via netgalley.

"Great polar bear...
how do you survive
on the thick ice covering the deep Arctic Sea?"

Thus begins the journey of a powerful and impressive polar bear as he roams the barren frozen landscape of the Arctic, solo. The author documents his scientifically accurate movements for about a year.

She explains how these magnificent creatures forage for their food, have to rely on a healthy arctic ecosystem and perfect ice creating weather. Ideal ice is critical for their very existence and for future polar bear generations to transpire.

Carolyn Lesser uses her beautiful hand-painted and cut-out paper collages to further enrich and enhance her narrative. This book was originally published in 1996 as "The Great Crystal Bear" and since then the author has updated it with all-new artwork for the reader's enjoyment. They truly are spectacular.

She cleverly includes at the end of the book: explorer's notes, a map depicting the global location of polar bears, and her own personal journal. I think the book should be geared to a higher age level as it is slower-paced and includes facts that older children will find more interesting than a younger reader. The story is told in freeform poetry style which is very lyrical and therefore easy to read. To me, the illustrations were by far the best part of the book and I do recommend that this book to be included in classrooms and elementary school libraries.

Downloaded through Netgalley free for an honest review. This would be a great read aloud for elementary. Or, read alone for an older elementary student. The book would be too lengthy for younger elementary kids. But it's cute, informative and lovely to look at!

Great Polar Bear would be a wonderful addition to any polar studies. I had one child in particular who immediately connected with the story and loved it.

My children enjoyed reading this book with me. The life of a polar bear in the Arctic is described in second-person, as if the author is talking to the bear. We were astounded to learn that winter is the good time of the year for polar bears. We also enjoyed the illustrations, as we studied the cut-paper pictures to see how they were made.
I received a free ecopy of this book from NetGalley and chose to write a review.

I loved how the illustrations turned out; they were so interesting to look at and really added to the story. Also, I loved how at the end of the book, it said “explorer’s notes” instead of “author’s notes.” Fantastic.