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PRESCHOOL
Barnett, Mac

A Polar Bear in the Snow

40 pp. | Candlewick | October, 2020 | Trade ISBN 978-1-536-20396-7 $17.99
(2) PS Illustrated by Shawn Harris. Viewers follow a polar bear, newly emerged from hibernation, on a journey across a snowy landscape to the Arctic Sea. The offstage narrator's persistent question ("Where is he going?") propels the creature's journey past playful seals, an inviting cave, and a sociable human. His response to each of these potential interactions varies from lack of interest to steadfastness to aggression--often with a smattering of implicit humor. ("Is he going to visit the seals? No. He is not hungry.") While the cut-and-torn-paper-collage illustrations (with ink detail) are almost entirely in shades of white throughout the book, a great sense of movement, depth, and mass is achieved through individual forms, as well as through layering, lighting, and texture. A striking glacial blue is introduced during the polar bear's acrobatic underwater routine, expertly sequenced across a double-page spread. After his swim, the animal continues his journey across the snow. The narrator now answers the text's oft-repeated question with: "Who knows?" Barnett (The Wolf, the Duck, and the Mouse, rev. 11/17) and Harris (Her Right Foot, rev. 11/17) have created an understated, reflective, and loving portrayal that also serves as a celebration of wonder and wandering.
Reviewer: Patrick Gall | Horn Book Magazine Issue: September, 2020

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