“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
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