About this book

One keen, clear night, a polar bear cub wakes inside her warm den. Something in the moonlit stillness quietly beckons. What is it? The little cub sets out for the snow and sky and sea and ice, and the moon follows.

Soothing words and luminous pictures from Stephen Savage (WHERE'S WALRUS?) and Lauren Thompson (LITTLE QUACK) make this nighttime tale as comforting as a goodnight kiss.

Reviews

Timed with the release of a follow-up picture book, “Polar Bear Morning,” this board version of the first polar bear story from Thompson and Savage has a pleasingly soft cover, its contours well tailored to the comfy bedtime story told inside. Janet Zarem, reviewing it in 2004, wrote, “Perhaps the biggest challenge for a bedtime story is to teach children that darkness can be a friend. ‘Polar Bear Night’’ meets that challenge. During the long arctic winter a cub leaves the coziness of her den. Curious and fearless, she explores ‘the snow and sky and sea and ice.’ She discovers a world of frozen beauty and contented sleepers — seals, whales and a walrus — sheltered by shadows and falling stars.” Zarem went on to note: “In a world becoming ever noisier, ever more distracting and awash in artificial light, silence and darkness are gifts we can give to ourselves and our children. ‘Polar Bear Night’ celebrates these valuable gifts and offers us yet one more, embodied in its final word: ‘home.’” Happily, neither art nor readability is sacrificed in this attractive new edition.--NEW YORK TIMES BOOK REVIEW


Praise for the hardcover edition of POLAR BEAR NIGHT:

"Thompson's phrasing emits a fittingly hushed quality and conveys a sense of wide-eyed wonder. Savage's crisp linocuts in a medley of icy bright blues, whites and purples and blacks contribute to a chilly yet soothing nocturnal landscape." --PUBLISHERS WEEKLY STARRED

"The tug of this gentle mystery will draw children into Thompson's simple bedtime story, and the hypnotic ebb and flow of her alliterative lines will keep children immersed...As arresting as Thompson's language are Savage's powerful linocuts, which beautifully reference the textures and forms of Inuit stone carvings and evoke the arctic landscape in a few elemental colors per spread: glacial blues, grays, and sea greens; the pinks and lavenders of the aurora borealis." --BOOKLIST STARRED


"The simplicity in the art, text, and plot belie the deft craftsmanship, like carving an ice sculpture. This bedtime story will captivate young listeners; it sparkles just like ice crystals on a moonlit night."--KIRKUS STARRED

"Bold linocut prints in cool blues offer visual tranquility in this soothing bedtime tale. Strong lines and simple shapes create clear images for young viewers." --HORN BOOK


"With comforting, carefully chosen words and soft pastels shading linocut prints, this book has all the elements to make it a bedtime favorite. A successful and satisfying combination of adventure and bedtime story." --SCHOOL LIBRARY JOURNAL