Ice Journey of the Polar Bear

September 9, 2024
Through the lens of climate change, Jenkins (Puffin) depicts a female polar bear’s arduous winter journey. Naturalistic mixed-media spreads and vignettes by Baker-Smith (One Million Insects) convey the bear’s physicality while evoking polar chill with wispy strokes of white. As the bear struggles onto an ice floe, unvarnished text explains: “The ice broke up early again last spring—it always does now—and it was a hard journey back to land, swimming from floe to floe.” Food is scarce, but the bear feasts on a dead beluga, “its tail tangled up in an old fishing net.” After hibernating, she gives birth to two hungry cubs who cavort and wrestle adorably, unaware of challenges to come. Eager to eat after eight months of fasting, the mother, cubs in tow, heads for the still-frozen sea, where “thousands of seals with fat young pups” represent possible relief. It’s a starkly told wildlife tale that highlights the difficulties caused by human-induced warming, and ends with a solemn question and answer: if no ice remains in the Arctic Ocean at summer’s end, “How will the bears survive? I don’t think anybody knows.” Back matter offers more about climate change. Ages 5–7.

October 15, 2024
A polar bear has and then cares for two cubs in the rapidly melting Arctic. Consciousness of climate change is woven throughout this snowy tale. "The ice broke up early again last spring--it always does now," but a female bear has made her way over the floes to land, feasted on a drowned beluga whale with its tail tangled in a fishing net, dug a den in the snow, and settled down to sleep and wait out the winter. Emerging the following spring with two cubs in tow, she leads the way through unseasonable slush to the still-frozen sea to hunt for seals, and to teach her offspring how. But how will the bears survive, Jenkins asks, when the ice is gone? "I don't think anybody knows." In Baker-Smith's impressionistic scenes, the mother bear, alone at first and then with her playful cubs, pads over dimly lit snowscapes past glimpses of open water loosely strewn with small bits of floating ice, pausing now and again to look out at viewers in silent enquiry. The author ends with further remarks about the causes of climate change and its effects on the bears' habitat, then closes by urging readers to learn more about the issue and what they can do to help. A low-key but fervent appeal to care, framed by atmospheric art.(Informational picture book. 5-7)

COPYRIGHT(2024) Kirkus Reviews, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

December 1, 2024
Grades K-2 This hauntingly beautiful picture book packs a punch. Starting with a narrative describing a polar bear's life cycle, this piece quickly turns into a realistic portrayal of the devastating effects climate change has had on Arctic ecosystems. An adult female bear moves across a frozen landscape, and the text indicates she notices less ice, meaning she needs to swim farther between solid land masses. She's hungry, but food is increasingly difficult to find. Luckily, she comes across the carcass of a dead whale. After feasting, she finds a good spot to hibernate, although unusual warmth and melting snow interrupt her months-long nap. Eventually, she gives birth to twin cubs, and the story describes what they'll need to learn to survive in their changing environment. Full-page mixed-media illustrations featuring swirling swatches of blues and grays effectively portray the barren landscapes and rising waters. The message may seem melancholy, but the straightforward text and quietly affecting illustrations are quite suitable for young audiences, whether read before bed or shared during storytime.

COPYRIGHT(2024) Booklist, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

January 1, 2025
Winter arrives in the Arctic. The days are shorter, the weather colder. A polar bear searches for a place to make a den, hibernate, and birth her twins. The trek across the ice is more difficult than in years before; ice floes are breaking up, and food has been scarce. Once on land, she finds a south-facing spot and settles down for the winter. The twins are born, she feeds them, and in the spring she and the cubs head toward the sea, where they can hunt for food. But conditions have changed: the ice is disappearing, creating fewer opportunities for them to hunt. Baker-Smith's soft mixed-media illustrations depict the bears' journey and are particularly effective in showing the degradation of the ice floes. Detailed back matter offers the main reason: climate change. In clear language, Jenkins describes the causes of Earth's warming and the effects not just for polar bears but for all life as climate change leads to an increase of extreme weather conditions. He concludes with suggestions individuals can follow to "make a difference when it comes to climate change." This brief glimpse into the experience of one polar bear ends, as it must, on a sober note of uncertainty about the future of the species. Betty Carter

(Copyright 2025 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)

January 1, 2025
Winter arrives in the Arctic. The days are shorter, the weather colder. A polar bear searches for a place to make a den, hibernate, and birth her twins. The trek across the ice is more difficult than in years before; ice floes are breaking up, and food has been scarce. Once on land, she finds a south-facing spot and settles down for the winter. The twins are born, she feeds them, and in the spring she and the cubs head toward the sea, where they can hunt for food. But conditions have changed: the ice is disappearing, creating fewer opportunities for them to hunt. Baker-Smith's soft mixed-media illustrations depict the bears' journey and are particularly effective in showing the degradation of the ice floes. Detailed back matter offers the main reason: climate change. In clear language, Jenkins describes the causes of Earth's warming and the effects not just for polar bears but for all life as climate change leads to an increase of extreme weather conditions. He concludes with suggestions individuals can follow to "make a difference when it comes to climate change." This brief glimpse into the experience of one polar bear ends, as it must, on a sober note of uncertainty about the future of the species.

(Copyright 2025 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)