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Face to Face with Polar Bears by Norbert Rosing — book cover

Face to Face with Polar Bears

by Norbert Rosing
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Overview

You’re bundled against the Arctic chill. You’re loaded with equipment. And that big white bear who’s just slashed your tires has a toothache. Where is that helicopter? Norbert Rosing leads young readers into the wintry world of the dangerous polar bear, who has good reason to be angry at man’s intrusions. Let this National Geographic expert show you the bears’ playful side; learn how they make nests for hibernation, why their coats are so white, and how you can help to protect their environment from the effects of global warming.

Synopsis

The ferocious, snarling beast closing in on you fast has a toothache. In the white wastelands of the Arctic, there is nowhere to hide. Where is that helicopter?

Despite surviving this nightmare, award-winning photographer Norbert Rosing loves the charming, playful side of the polar bear. Yes, they slashed his tires, but mankind is now ruining their climate and environment. Surely the bears' anger is understandable. Rosing's book connects children with the consequences of global warming, and gives practical advice on how to help save our white-furred friends.

Children's Literature

If you have been reading the newspapers lately, you would be aware that polar bears may be greatly endangered by global warming. Their habitat is changing and changing much faster than they can adapt. The author and his wife were on an expedition to photograph polar bears and they ventured to Churchill in Manitoba, Canada, which is sometimes referred to as the "polar bear capital of the world." These bears are big and powerful. The book opens with their frightening encounter with a bear who had a tooth ache and seemed determined to break into their camp. After that experience, Rosing tells about his ventures to the Arctic to photograph wildlife and how he became fascinated by polar bears. His pictures are amazing—a bear eating a walrus, a mother snuggling with her cub, bears swimming in icy cold waters, and young males at play (but this play acting will help them later when they actually will fight over a female). The final pages address how readers can help fight global warming to protect the bears' habitat, and also how one can become a budding animal photographer. If a young reader is working on a report, the facts-at-a-glance, glossary and find-out-more sections will be particularly helpful. The latter includes printed materials as well as web sites. An excellent book for school, public library, and home use. Look for other titles in the "Face to Face" series.

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Editorials

Children's Literature - Marilyn Courtot

If you have been reading the newspapers lately, you would be aware that polar bears may be greatly endangered by global warming. Their habitat is changing and changing much faster than they can adapt. The author and his wife were on an expedition to photograph polar bears and they ventured to Churchill in Manitoba, Canada, which is sometimes referred to as the "polar bear capital of the world." These bears are big and powerful. The book opens with their frightening encounter with a bear who had a tooth ache and seemed determined to break into their camp. After that experience, Rosing tells about his ventures to the Arctic to photograph wildlife and how he became fascinated by polar bears. His pictures are amazing—a bear eating a walrus, a mother snuggling with her cub, bears swimming in icy cold waters, and young males at play (but this play acting will help them later when they actually will fight over a female). The final pages address how readers can help fight global warming to protect the bears' habitat, and also how one can become a budding animal photographer. If a young reader is working on a report, the facts-at-a-glance, glossary and find-out-more sections will be particularly helpful. The latter includes printed materials as well as web sites. An excellent book for school, public library, and home use. Look for other titles in the "Face to Face" series.

School Library Journal

Gr 3-6
Both books have remarkable color visuals, anecdotes from the photographers' field experiences, and factual information about the animals. The Nicklins outline the special abilities and physical features of dolphins, such as echolocation, as well as diet, reproduction, swimming habits, and threats to their existence. Rosing tells how he and his wife tried to fend off a polar bear "with a toothache" and a yen for their spaghetti dinner while they waited for a helicopter rescue. The book describes the animal's diet, physical features, and habitat, and the dangers of global warming. A small map denotes range and den locations. These attractive, smoothly written books, topped off with advice about self-directed research, will catch the attention of enthusiasts and motivate them toward personal investigation.
—Nancy CallCopyright 2006 Reed Business Information.

Kirkus Reviews

In this attractive addition to a new series featuring animals in the wild, a veteran photographer describes the polar bears he studies, including information about habits, physical characteristics, child-rearing practices and their endangered environment. Opening with a suspenseful encounter with a bear with a toothache, the smoothly written text complements striking photographs, some close-up and some showing bears in their usual habitat. Sidebars describing staying warm in the Arctic and hunting like a bear help the young reader connect. Like other books in the series, the text stresses the effects of environmental changes on these vulnerable animals. Although the writer follows the usual practice of calling the polar bear a marine mammal, readers may be confused by text in a sidebar calling it a "land predator" and a caption referring to "land carnivores." As a follow-up, there are suggestions for how young readers can help bears and how they might research and photograph them along with two pages of fast facts. Pair with Dorothy Hinshaw Patent's A Polar Bear Biologist at Work (2001) for slightly older readers. (glossary, bibliography, index) (Nonfiction. 7-10)

Book Details

Published
September 1, 2009
Publisher
National Geographic Society
Pages
32
Format
Paperback
ISBN
9781426305481

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