Review By JENNIFER GANNETT

Jean Craighead George and Wendell Minor, the team responsible for The Wolves Are Back, bring us an Arctic tale.  The Last Polar Bear focuses upon young Tigluk, who encounters a polar bear in his Arctic village.  Ignoring the warnings of the adult villagers, Tigluk has a close encounter with the bear, named Nanuq.  Realizing he has received an important message from her, Tigluk and his grandmother work together to mend a family boat and voyage north in the Arctic Ocean.  After paddling for days, they find an abandoned polar bear cub on an ice floe.  They know that he is Nanuq’s cub, the last polar bear, and gather him into their kayak to bring him home and care for him in the warming world.

The book is peppered with references to the obvious consequences of climate change that Tigluk and his fellow villagers observe, including the fact that there are fewer ice floes than there once were.  As Tigluk and his Aka discuss, no more ice floes means no more Nanuqs.

Of course this story’s trajectory is in some ways far-fetched — but that is nothing new in the realm of children’s literature.  What is striking, though, is the undercurrent of sadness that runs through the book.  While the imagined ending is a fortuitous one for the individual cub, the events chronicled are markers of some deeply distressing events in our world.  This book is especially timely right now, given some of the recent decisions in the United States regarding the status of polar bears and their habitat.

Parents and caregivers may want to know that there are multiple references to items made from sealskin, and Tigluk and Aka wear fur-lined coats throughout the course of the book.  These illustrations and references may open the door to discussions about the relationships that native tribes have (and have had) with animals.

This book is for ages 5 and up, though sensitive children (or their parents) may find the subject matter difficult.  Learn more about the book and see some of the beautiful illustrations by checking out this interview with Wendell Minor.

Review By ROBYN MOORE

The Snow Bear is a beautiful wintry tale of a polar bear cub who awakens from hibernation with his mother nowhere in sight. So with the help of his forest friends—Ox, Goose, Moose, Fox, Wolf, and Rabbit—he decides to build a mother bear out of snow to keep him company. Together, they use their individual skills. For example, Goose helps pat down the snow with her webbed feet, and Wolf brushes in fur marks with his big, bushy tail. As dusk approaches, all the animals are called home by their mothers, and the little bear finds himself all alone in the middle of the snowy forest. So he curls up next to the snow bear and falls asleep. He awakens to a familiar scent at dawn and finds that the snow bear has been replaced by his real mother. You can almost feel the relief and comfort of the cub through the page!

This is a touch-and-feel book embossed with different textures on each page so that the snow feels soft and the animals’ fur feels rough, which makes it especially nice for younger children.

From the moment you open this book, you feel as if you’ve stepped into a winter wonderland. The illustrations and the snowflakes sprinkled throughout each page evoke a cold, arctic feel—a tranquil oasis where animals live peacefully.

Ages 0-8.

There are so many interesting kids books in the world that our contributors don’t often double up on a title — but in this case, they did.  First, read Jennifer’s review of

Review By JENNIFER GANNETT

Todd Parr does it again!  Many of you are familiar with the author/illustrator’s books– they are simple, cheerful and humorous while encouraging us to enjoy each other and embrace our diversity and each other’s quirks.  In The Earth Book, colorful, fun illustrations and a light tone take children on an upbeat journey through steps we take to help our planet.  I have enjoyed Mr. Parr’s other books, and was happy to have an opportunity to read and review this one.

We really liked this book in particular because it illustrates how people incorporate simple ways to help the planet into their everyday lives. The Earth Book also explains the rationale behind taking these steps in a joyful, child-friendly way (“I take the school bus and ride my bike because…I love the stars and I want the air to be clear so I can see them sparkle.”).  As always with Todd Parr’s books, his vivid illustrations evoke happy spirits.

This is a fabulous book for children and adults who love color, bring a joyful heart to being mindful about lessening our impacts on the earth and want to dig into a story that will support them as they continue on that path.

As a bonus, the cover of the book turns into a poster entitled “10 Ways I Can Help the Earth.”  Our favorites are number four (be nice to worms) and number ten (put my underwear in the freezer when its hot).

I recommend this book for everyone.

A Different Perspective From CAROLYN M. MULLIN

What distinguishes The Earth Book from other similar titles are the bright, bubbly, a-kid-could-have-drawn-this artwork and the accessible planet-saving actions readers can take: using both sides of a paper, turning off the faucet when brushing, riding bikes, saving leftovers, etc. To me, however, there is a rather clear disconnect between some of the recommended actions and the reason for engaging in them. For example, “I remember to turn off the lights and shut the refrigerator to save energy because…I love the polar bears and I want snowmen to stay cool.”

Still, through my rose-colored lenses, I see the fragmented thoughts as opportunities to discuss such matters at some length and challenge kids to make these important connections on their own (or with a little help). The tear out poster lists 10 ways kids can help the earth, including sharing books — and as Jennifer has noted, being nice to worms and oddly enough freezing underwear when it’s hot outside.

Check out Todd Parr’s website for other fun, kindhearted titles as well as The Earth Book coloring pages.

Ages 4-8.

Review By JENNIFER GANNETT

Lured by its cover featuring adorable marine life and its eco-conscious title, I eagerly flipped through the pages of World Water Watch.  What I found inside was a mixed bag.  The book presents our gloomy environmental situation within the framework of several geographical locations, for example, we learn in the first section about otters in Alaska and the deleterious effects that oil spills have on them (death by drowning or suffocation).

The way the book juggles the text can be confusing. The severity of the green sea turtles’ plight in Mexico is another illustration, with the book noting that the creatures were nearly driven to extinction in the late 1980s.  (As the book mentions, Mexico declared a ban on slaughtering sea turtles in 1990.)  I found this book’s section discussing the Juan Fernandez fur seal (residents of offshore Chilean islands) to be particularly unsettling.  The section notes that the seals were hunted for their fur to make coats, gloves and purses and that their meat was ground up for pet food.  The sole warning in this section of the book is that other fur seals continue to be threatened seems a strange choice to include, and with no real value without any suggestions for action.  World Water Watch also takes a stab at discussing POPs using polar bears to illustrate the long term effects of chemical and pesticide use.  The book’s illustrations are excellent but the text and story never properly gel.

Although I’m no stranger to reading books about the imperfect state of the Earth, the matter-of fact-tone regarding the ecological disasters portrayed did not sit well with me.  My strong preference would have been to see positive actions highlighted.  I believe that if we are going to read a child books with such heavy themes, we should also be presenting solutions and inspiration.  While my child seemed to have no real issues with this book, it isn’t one that will see much rotation, despite my initial enthusiasm.

Ages 6 and up.

Review By

Once I Was a Cardboard Box … But Now I’m a Book About Polar Bears! is a clever book designed not only to inform children about the biology and status of polar bears but also give them a detailed look at what happens to some of our cardboard when it enters the recycling stream. The book itself, as the title proclaims, is made from recycled cardboard and the lack of plastic laminate gives it extra green cred (the heavy duty cardboard cover has held up perfectly well).

Each page of the book contains dual information: the main text is about polar bears and detailed sidebars discuss paper recycling. I found the information on the recycling especially interesting. The illustrations and graphics are bright and appealing. China plays a fairly significant role in the box-to-book portion of the book– a good way to discuss with your children issues such as the role that China plays as our trading partner, consumerism and how resource intensive even recycling can be (think multiple trans-Pacific voyages via container ship). We sometimes read the stories individually (first the polar bears, then the recyling) but we often mix the two.

The end of the book ties together the relationship between polar bears, global warming and recycling. The final page contains suggestions for steps that the entire family can take to slow climate change. If your family is interested in talking more about recycling, the EPA has developed a game called Recycle City, and the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences has a kid-friendly page with many links.

This book is great for kiddos ages 4 and up.

Review By JENNIFER GANNETT

With Hug Time, Patrick McDonnell, longtime cartoonist and creator of “Mutts” (as well as the artist behind New Jersey’s animal friendly license plate), has crafted another winner. The sweet rhyming cadence and nicely balanced illustrations happily hook adults and children as they follow Jules the Kitten. Jules is feeling a little down about the state of global affairs and has come up with a solution: to hug the whole world. Caregivers of young children can probably relate to Doozy as she helps Jules with his sweater and asks, “hug the whole world, will that make it better?” Jules answers in the affirmative (ah! the certainty of the very young!) and sets out.

Along the way, there are allusions to various environmental themes as we follow Jules through the world and he experiences finding (and hugging) charismatic mega-fauna and lesser-known species as well. A nod to climate change and its impact on polar bears makes its way into the end of the story but before the plot becomes too heavy, we are reminded that change begins with our actions at home, sometimes with just one hug.

An adorable book to share with huggable folks ages 3 and up.

Review By MARSHA RAKESTRAW

Pictures of polar bears clinging to small bits of ice have been a primary rallying symbol for the fight to stop global climate change. In Winston of Churchill: One Bear’s Battle Against Global Warming, the bears take matters into their own paws, thanks to the courage and foresight of Winston, who leads the bears in a campaign to defend their ice-dependent homes. Since people are the primary cause of global warming, Winston mobilizes the bears to protest in front of the tourists (complete with signs and chants) to make them aware of how their destructive actions are melting the ice and destroying the bears’ land.

Winston of Churchill is a fun, playful way to introduce kids to the issue of global warming, the importance of personal responsibility (Winston’s wife points out that his cigar pollutes, too), and the power of taking positive, peaceful action. Although the quotes and references to the World War II leader will be lost on kids, parents may appreciate them. Great for sparking age-appropriate discussion about an important topic that affects everyone.

Ages 5-9.

This picture book by Marion Dane Bauer and Dorothy Donahue introduces kids to the ecological needs of animals through touching, even funny, poems — with gorgeous illustrations to boot.  Each page could stand on its own, but together they’re downright magical.

One of the things I love about this book is, cover aside, the realism of the illustrations and the accuracy of the descriptions.  If polar bears made weather, we’re told, the world would be a blustery, icy place.  (Nice entree into a climate change discussion, if you’d like.)

What a delight at the end then when all of the animals transform into stuffed toys, and the reader realizes that the little boy at the periphery of the story has envisioned each of his toys out in nature!

Ages 3-7.

This hardcover book from Flowerpot Press talks about the natural history, conservation status, and threats to endangered animals all over the world.  In addition to discussing environmental threats, such as toxic fertilizers that threaten endangered raptors and the effect of climate change on polar bears, this book talks about ways that people harm animals, such as killing elephants for the ivory trade and taking parrots from the wild for the pet trade.

This book provides great factual information to kids about the threats animals face in the wild, but it never spells out the next logical step about what ordinary people can do to protect animals.  This can be a good starting place for discussions with your child.  Since the pet trade threatens parrots, you might ask, then is it OK to buy these animals in pet stores?  Or, why would anyone want to kill alligators for their hides?

Ages 8-12.