Polar Bear Journey

The true and fascinating survival story of the world's most distinctive bear. One January, in a cozy, snowy den, a polar bear gives birth to two tiny cubs. They weigh only a pound each, and they cannot see or hear. After several weeks, the family begins its journey-a 1,500-mile trek across the treacherous frozen landscape in search of food. Along the way, the cubs learn to hunt, swim, and travel as they grow so that they can eventually survive alone.

School Library Journal

K-Gr 4Lovely acrylic paintings accompany this informative and lyrical text that focuses on a mother polar bear and her two cubs. The blue-gray palette perfectly evokes the frozen and forbidding landscape that the animals travel through after leaving their snug winter den. Polar bear diet, habitat, and parenting behavior are smoothly integrated into the satisfying narrative. Miller's focus on the cubs and their interaction with their mother adds an important dimension to the story. This title is more informative than Joanne Ryder's White Bear, Ice Bear (Morrow, 1989), though the style of illustration is remarkably similar. Thor Larsen's fine Polar Bear Family Book (North-South, 1996) is for older readers. Libraries that have both of these titles might want to add copies of A Polar Bear Journey instead of replacing the Ryder book. Collections needing a well-written nonfiction book will find this a useful purchase.Ellen M. Riordan, Enoch Pratt Free Library, Baltimore, MD

Debbie S. Miller has written many acclaimed children’s books, including Arctic Lights, Arctic Nights. She lives in Fairbanks, Alaska.

Jon Van Zyle has collaborated with Debbie S. Miller on seven books for children. They are currently at work on the eighth, Big Alaska. He lives in Eagle River, Alaska.