Polar Regions

The Three Snow Bears

Aloo-ki glances up from fishing and sees her sled dogs floating off on an ice floe. She races after them and comes upon an igloo. Being a curious girl, she goes inside only to find no one home. ThatÂ’s because the polar bear family who lives there is out walking while their breakfast cools off. Aloo-ki eats some soup, tries on their boots, and finally crawls into the smallest bed for a nap. Meanwhile, Papa, Mama, and Baby Bear see her dogs adrift, swim out to rescue them and return home to find Aloo-ki fast asleep in Baby BearÂ’s bed.

Jan traveled to the far North to meet the Inuit people and see the amazing land where they live. Dramatic illustrations capture the shimmering ice, snow and deep blue seas of the Arctic, and when Jan adds a raven-haired Inuit girl and her appealing huskies, an endearing family of polar bears, and playful Arctic animals in the borders, the result is one of her most beautiful picture books.

The decorative Inuit patterns and clothing Jan uses throughout are sure to attract adult fans and collectors while children will want to listen to and look at this exciting version of a well-loved story over and over again.

The White Darkness

I have been in love with Titus Oates for quite a while now—which is ridiculous, since he's been dead for ninety years. But look at it this way. In ninety years I'll be dead, too, and the age difference won't matter.

Sym is not your average teenage girl. She is obsessed with the Antarctic and the brave, romantic figure of Captain Oates from Scott's doomed expedition to the South Pole. In fact, Oates is the secret confidant to whom she spills all her hopes and fears.

But Sym's uncle Victor is even more obsessed—and when he takes her on a dream trip into the bleak Antarctic wilderness, it turns into a nightmarish struggle for survival that will challenge everything she knows and loves.

In her first contemporary young adult novel, Carnegie Medalist and three-time Whitbread Award winner Geraldine McCaughrean delivers a spellbinding journey into the frozen heart of darkness.

Touching Spirit Bear

Cole Matthews is angry. Angry, defiant, smug--in short, a bully. His anger has taken him too far this time, though. After beating up a ninth-grade classmate to the point of brain damage, Cole is facing a prison sentence. But then a Tlingit Indian parole officer named Garvey enters his life, offering an alternative called Circle Justice, based on Native American traditions, in which victim, offender, and community all work together to find a healing solution. Privately, Cole sneers at the concept, but he's no fool--if it gets him out of prison, he'll do anything. Ultimately, Cole ends up banished for one year to a remote Alaskan island, where his arrogance sets him directly in the path of a mysterious, legendary white bear. Mauled almost to death, Cole awaits his fate and begins the transition from anger to humility.

Ben Mikaelsen's depiction of a juvenile delinquent's metamorphosis into a caring, thinking individual is exciting and fascinating, if at times heavy-handed. Cole's nastiness and the vivid depictions of the lengths he must go to survive after the (equally vivid) attack by the bear are excruciating at times, but the concept of finding a way to heal a whole community when one individual wrongs another is compelling. The jacket cover photo of the author in a bear hug with the 700-pound black bear that he and his wife adopted and raised is definitely worth seeing! (Ages 12 and older) --Emilie Coulter

Within Cole Matthews lies anger, rage, and hate. Cole has been stealing and fighting for years.  This time he caught Peter Driscal in the parking lot and smashed his head against the sidewalk.  Now, Peter may have permanent brain damage–and Cole is in the biggest trouble of his life.

Cole receives a one-year banishment to a remote Alaskan island. There, he is mauled by a mysterious white bear of Native American legend.  Hideously injured, Cole waits for death. His thoughts shift from anger to humility. To survive, he must stop blaming others and take responsibility for his life.  Rescuers arrive to save Cole's body, but it is the attack of the Spirit Bear that may save his soul.

Adventures of Riley--The Polar Bear Puzzle (Adventures of Riley)

While polar bears and climate change are making front page news in the real world, it is up to Riley and family to visit the Arctic Circle to reveal the plight of the polar bear from a child's perspective. Part of the multiple award-winning Adventures of Riley children's picture book series, Polar Bear Puzzle features a tense plot, amazing mixed-media visuals and cutting-edge science provided by leading scientists!

Shackleton's Stowaway

On October 26, 1914, Ernest Shackleton’s Endurance set sail from Buenos Aires in pursuit of the last unclaimed prize in exploration: the crossing of the Antarctic continent. The crew stood on deck to watch the city fade away. All but one.

Eighteen-year-old Perce Blackborow hid below in a locker. But the thrill of stowing away with the legendary explorer would soon turn to fear. Within months, the Endurance, trapped and crushed by ice, sank. And even Perce, the youngest member of the stranded crew, knew there was no hope of rescue. If the men were to survive in the most hostile place on earth, they would have to do it on their own.

Victoria McKernan deftly weaves the hard-to-fathom facts of this famous voyage into an epic, edge-of-your-seat survival novel.


From the Hardcover edition.

Over in the Arctic: Where the Cold Winds Blow (Sharing Nature with Children Book)

Over in the Arctic, the snow goose "honks" and the wolf "howls." Children too will joyfully honk and howl while they count the baby animals and sing to the tune of "Over in the Meadow." And the illustrations - all done in cut paper - vividly convey the dramatic landscape of the Arctic. This is the latest from bestselling children's book writer Marianne Berkes, author of Over in the Ocean: In a Coral Reef, Over in the Jungle: A Rainforest Rhyme and Going Around the Sun: Some Planetary Fun.

Adventures of Riley--South Pole Penguins (Adventures of Riley)

Is climate change affecting the Antarctic food web, leaving penguins without enough food to eat? That is what Riley and family intend to find out on their research voyage to the bottom of the world! Cutting-edge science, numerous close-encounters with native wildlife, authentic animal facts supplied by the world's leading scientists, a compelling narrative and next-generation picture book visuals combine to create another Adventures of Riley classic!

Ice Drift