Kali's Story: An Orphaned Polar Bear Rescue - by Jennifer Keats Curtis (Paperback)

About the Book

"Follow the photographic journey of orphaned polar bear Kali (pronounced Cully) as he is rescued and whisked away to the Inupiat village of Kali (Point Lay in English). Villagers care for him until a plane flies him to the Alaska Zoo in Anchorage. There, he grows and learns skills from zookeepers filling in for his mother. Since young cubs need companionship, animal experts find a friend for Kali, Luna, a female polar bear, at the Buffalo Zoo in New York"--

Book Synopsis

Follow the rescue of orphaned polar bear Kali (pronounced Cully) from the Inupiat village of Kali (Point Lay in English) to the Alaska Zoo in Anchorage to his new home at the Buffalo Zoo in New York with Luna, a female polar bear. This photographic journey beautifully captures the remarkable development of the cub, who initially drinks from a baby bottle, sucks his paw for comfort, and sleeps with a "blankie" as he rapidly grows into the largest land carnivore on earth. This work of narrative nonfiction includes a 4-page For Creative Minds section in the back of the book and a 54-page cross-curricular Teaching Activity Guide online. Kali's Story is vetted by experts and designed to encourage parental engagement. Its extensive back matter helps teachers with time-saving lesson ideas, provides extensions for science, math, and social studies units, and uses inquiry-based learning to help build critical thinking skills in young readers. The Spanish translation supports ELL and dual-language programs. The interactive ebook reads aloud in both English and Spanish with word highlighting and audio speed control to promote oral language skills, fluency, pronunciation, text engagement, and reading comprehension.

Review Quotes

"Gomes's scattered photographs create both an album like effect and a sort of visual narrative as Kali plays, explores, and naps. Though Kali's permanent home ends up being at the Buffalo Zoo, rather than in the wild, readers should enjoy seeing a grown-up Kali find a companion in another polar bear named Luna. - Publishers Weekly

About the Author

John Gomes' passion for photography is evident through his nature and Alaskan-focused images. A self-taught photographer going back to the -manual- camera days, John's photos capture Alaskan life including mushing (sled-dog racing) and rodeos. John has been the Alaska Zoo's official volunteer photographer for over ten years and has spent countless hours capturing magnificent images of baby and adult animals, including bears, goats, coyotes, foxes, and porcupines. To see more of John's photos, visit his website at www.akjohn.com.