The Ice Bear

Meant for older readers, this is an unusual story linking the lives of animal and human Arctic dwellers. One of a polar bear’s newborn cubs is stolen and carried away by a raven. Later the hunter (human) finds that a bundle set down by the raven is actually a baby boy. The overjoyed couple bring him up lovingly for seven years while the raven, we are told, always keeps watch. In his seventh year the boy strays away from where his parents are busy gathering food for winter. A shard of amber has caught his eye and as he follows a trail of shining amber pieces in the snow, he gets further and further away. Just before he gets to the brightest shard yet, the raven swoops in to snatch it, dropping it at a distance for him to follow. So continues the pursuit until he is lost in the cold white wilderness. He wakes surrounded by polar bears and feels strangely at home, with memories of a polar bear family flooding back to him. When his hunter father finally finds him, he is faced with choosing which family to belong to. He chooses to stay with the bears in winter and the humans in summer.  While the illustrations are lovely, the reader may struggle at times to follow the narrative and make sense of it. Clearer textual connections would help draw us in, especially at the beginning. The language is at times lyrical, at times stilted and the text is quite small on the full colour double page spreads – a larger font would add visual appeal. A slightly disappointing read given the dramatic illustrations.