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By Lisa Thalhimer

Make Tracks for These Polar Bear Books

Jan Brett’s newest picture book is a charming Arctic version of the Goldilocks fairytale. The Three Snow Bears (Putnam, 2007) stars Aloo-ki, an Inuit girl whose team of huskies accidentally floats out to sea on a chunk of ice. At that exact moment, a polar bear family sets out for a walk while Baby Bear’s breakfast cools.
Aloo-ki discovers the bears’ igloo while searching for her dog team. She enters. Brett follows the traditional story line (too hot, too cold, just right).
In addition, Brett frames each two-page spread with smaller, wordless illustrations depicting the polar bear family’s adventures. The bears spot the floating dog team, throw off their clothes and jump into the water. The bears manage to push the ice floe to their igloo where they all surprise a sleeping Aloo-ki. Recommended for ages 3 to 7.

Treasure by Suzanne Bloom (Boyds Mill, 2007) is a simple picture book with vibrant illustrations. In this story, Goose thinks Polar Bear is gearing up for a treasure hunt. Not wanting to disappoint, Polar Bear leads his friend on an action-packed adventure. When Goose complains about failing to find a treasure, Polar Bear corrects him.
Yes we did. We had a splendid day…and you are a treasure.
This is a charming friendship story for ages 3 to 6.

Knut: How One Little Polar Bear Captivated the World by Juliana, Isabella and Craig Hatkoff and Dr. Gerald R. Uhlich (Turtle Pond, 2007) is a work of non-fiction.
Numerous color photographs and a clear, interesting text immerse the reader into the world of Knut, the endearing cub born in a Berlin, Germany zoo in December 2006.
Rejected by his mother, Knut survives because of the 24-hour care of zookeeper Thomas Dorflein. Ultimately, the polar bear’s story fascinates animal lovers around the world.
Day after day, huge crowds came to admire Knut as he played with his keepers and his sticks, balls and teddy bears. As people’s love for Knut grew, many thought about Knut’s polar bear cousins in the wild. With temperatures rising around the globe, the icy regions where polar bears live are shrinking. Some scientists even believe that polar bears could become extinct during our lifetime. Many of Knut’s new friends realized what the world might lose and started asking what they could do to help.
Recommended for ages 5 to 8.

Jason Chapman’s first children’s book, Ted, Bo and Diz (Good Books, 2007) preaches the same message about the melting of the polar ice caps, but with greater subtlety.
Ted and Bo are, apparently, teddy bears. Diz resembles a stuffed animal zebra. When the three friends climb into a raft at the beach, they see something strange ahead.
There, curled up on the softly rocking bed of ice, lay a family of polar bears and a baby seal.
Ted, Bo and Diz paddled gently towards them. As Bo leaned forward to give the smallest polar bear a flower, she felt the coolness of the icy boat on her face.
The little bear had never seen a flower before, but he knew it was beautiful.

The animals enjoy playing together until the shelf of ice begins to shrink. Ted saves the day by enlisting three whales to transport the polar bears home.
The friends wave goodbye and forlornly turn to paddle back to the beach.
“Let’s go home,” said Ted sadly.
Diz looked out to sea and smiled.
“Look,” he said. “Another iceberg!”
This second floating iceberg is packed with waving penguins. Young children will view this story as an amusing animal adventure. Older children and adults will understand the alarming significance of the story. Recommended for ages 3 to 6.

It is always a joy to review one of Robert Sabuda’s pop-up books. Winter in White: A Mini Pop-Up Treat (Simon & Schuster, 2007) is just that.
Small in size, the book is grand in paper engineering. Three intricate snowflakes, each tipped with silver paper, emerge in 3-D as the first page is opened. The delicate, twirling ice skater and intricate sledding child delight the eye. Recommended for ages 6 to 100.

Danny’s First Snow by Leonid Gore (Atheneum, 2007) explores the joy of a first snowfall. Danny is a rabbit whose mother wraps a scarf around his neck and encourages him to discover the properties of snow after an all-night snowfall.
What a surprise! All of the trees, bushes and grass were gone! And who were these new friends?
In the snow-formed shapes, Danny sees other animals to play with. A low bush becomes a hedgehog. A twiggy tree resembles an ostrich. But not all of the animals are friendly. A pack of snowy wolves frightens the young rabbit.
He races home, eager to discover new snow friends in the morning. Recommended for ages 4 to 6.

Lisa looks forward to the first snow of the season. “Snowy days are perfect for walks, hot chocolate and a good book—or ten!”  

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