About the Book

"A [lyrical picture] book exploring the life and habitat of a mother polar bear and her cubs"--

Book Synopsis

This companion book to the authors' Sibert award-winning Honeybee explores the life and habitat of a majestic endangered species through dramatic text and sumptuous illustration.

April in the Arctic . . .
Cold winds send snow clouds scuttling across the sky.
Temperatures barely nudge above freezing.
But every now and again,
The cloud cover parts,
The sun shines down,
And the frozen world stretches awake.

As spring approaches in the Arctic, a mother polar bear and her two cubs tentatively emerge from hibernation to explore the changing landscape. When it is time, she takes her cubs on a forty-mile journey, back to their home on the ice. Along the way, she fends off wolves, hunts for food, and swims miles and miles.

This companion book to Honeybee and Giant Squid features the unique talents of Fleming and Rohmann on a perennially popular subject. Eric Rohmann's magnificent oil paintings feature (as in Honeybee) a spectacular gatefold of the polar landscape.

A Junior Library Guild Gold Standard Selection

Review Quotes

"Polar Bear is both a paean to a swiftly changing Arctic habitat and a deeply affecting story about fierce mother love. . . . While Fleming's narration is building suspense and wonder, the Caldecott medalist Eric Rohmann's lush paintings move in for close-ups and stretch out to reveal the fantastic breadth of an icy landscape. . . . Fleming and Rohmann's respect and awe for these animals is palpable."--The New York Times

★ "With their usual dynamism and immediacy, Fleming and Rohmann turn their attention to polar bears. . . . [An] outstanding book.."--The Horn Book, Starred Review

★ "Gorgeous illustrations capture a fragile ecosystem, making this an outstanding collaboration that belongs in all library collections."--School Library Journal, Starred Review

★ "Using lyric prose that carefully avoids anthropomorphism, Fleming vividly depicts this Hudson Bay, Ontario, setting and these apex predators. . . . Rohmann's magnificent oil paintings feature blue, green, and gray backgrounds that nicely set off the bears. . . . A majestic polar plunge not to be missed."--Booklist, Starred Review

"Polar Bear wisely and effectively brings climate change into focus. . . . Another wondrous collaboration from the Sibert Medal-winning team of Candace Fleming and Eric Rohmann (Honeybee). Fleming masterfully builds suspense, and her text will have readers rooting hard for this family of bears. . . . Her lovely, lilting prose accompanies Caldecott Medalist Rohmann's breathtaking oil illustrations, which include an effective double gatefold showing the struggling bears adrift after ice melts too early."--Shelf Awareness

"Portrays beauty and suspense. . . . Fleming's lengthy verses persuasively portray the world through a polar bear's senses, and Rohmann's vivid close-ups of the bears are matched by spacious spreads that capture the distinctive light of the north."--Publishers Weekly

"With the same care for detail and drama brought to the honeybee in Honeybee: The Busy Life of Apis Mellifera (BCCB 2/20), Fleming turns here to the polar bear. . . . Fleming brings a lyricism to her depiction, with a gentle cadence moving steadily alongside the family. . . . Rohmann's signature painterly art . . . highlight[s] the regality and strength of her form backgrounded by wintry scenes in sweeps of whites, blues, and grays."--The Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books

About the Author

Candace Fleming is the author of more than thirty distinguished books for children including Honeybee: The Busy Life of Apis Mellifera, winner of an Orbis Pictus Honor and the Sibert Medal for most distinguished informational book, and Cubs in the Tub: The True Story of the Bronx Zoo's First Woman Zookeeper. Her book The Rise and Fall of Charles Lindbergh received the YALSA Award for Excellence in Nonfiction. She lives in Chicago.

Eric Rohmann is the award-winning author and/or illustrator of many beloved books for children. He received a Caldecott Honor for Time Flies and a Caldecott medal for My Friend Rabbit. He also collaborated with Candace Fleming on Honeybee: The Busy Life of Apis Mellifera, winner of an Orbis Pictus Honor and the Sibert Medal for most distinguished informational book. They live in Chicago, Illinois.