Arctic mammals are especially fascinating to children. This book focuses on one arctic mamal and follows it, in its natural habitat, from birth through the first year of life. Side=bars, fun facts, and maps are scattered throughout. Also included is a glossary, an index, a list of safe websites to explore at Fact Hound, and a map of where the animals live in the world. Included at the beginning of the book is a listing of where the animal lives, its habitat, food, length and weight, animal class, and scientific name. Other plants and animals that would be in the animal’s habitat are identified. The leader of the Polar Bear Project for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service served as a consultant on this book, and the facts scattered throughout are fascinating. For example, polar bears dig tunnels for their dens, and they may be 6 to 30 feet long. At birth, the polar bear is the size of a squirrel, and by 3 months, the cub may weigh 20 pounds. Polar bears can swim 60 miles without stopping and sniff a sea 20 miles away. Their hairs are hollow and act like little greenhouses, trapping heat to help keep the animal warm. Their black skin also allows them to absorb heat. The author uses her characteristic cut-paper illustrations, with no photos or actual pictures. Although they are art, they are still accurate and appealing. I still found myself longing for a “real” picture of a polar bear, but this was not enough to detract from my overall recommendation. I also found several pictures that show human expressions on the cubs, but again, this was not enough to detract from my overall recommendation.
Science & Children Magazine
Come fall it is time for many animals to hibernate for the winter and an Arctic polar bear will approach a large snow drift to begin digging out a den. Once she "hollows out a room for her den" she is ready to curl up and await the birth of her cubs in two months. The tunnels each bear digs can vary, but usually they are approximately six feet in length, just enough room for a mother bear to nestle in. In the Arctic, January is continuously dark and it is time for the polar bear to give birth. The twins "are covered in thin, white fur" and "their eyes are closed tight." These babies, who weigh slightly more than a can of corn, curl up on their mother's belly to nurse. There, in her cozy darkened den, she will tend to them until it is time for them to venture out into the world three months later. Once out of the den they begin to play in and explore their new world until one day they no longer go back into the den. The mother, who is hungry, begins to hunt for seals, "her favorite food." The cubs learn how to hunt by watching her as she patiently waits by a "breathing hole" for a ringed seal to surface. They are not alone on the Arctic landscape for you can see other creatures such as the caribou, snow geese and the arctic fox. In this book you will learn about the polar bear habitat, where they live, what they eat, their physical characteristics, their life cycle, how they hunt, and many other interesting facts. Did you know that "Polar bears have such a good sense of smell that they can sniff a seal from 20 miles (32 km) away?" Amazing! This fascinating book is an excellent way to learn about polar bears, our "largest land predators." The gentle flow of the book and the magnificent cut paper collage gives the reader a feel for the arctic world and the polar bear. The picture book format makes it easy for younger children to absorb factual material when the "story" is read to them. A confident reader will enjoy reading about the polar bear, while an older student could use the information as a stepping stone to a report. There are scattered informative sidebars in the text that I find to be a real plus. In the back of the book there is a world map that shows where polar bears live, a section on "Polar Bear Fun Facts," an index, a glossary and additional recommended books and internet resources (Fact Hound). This is one book in the "Caroline Arnold's Animals" series that would be a welcome addition on anyone's shelves! Quill says: This fascinating book is an excellent way to learn about polar bears, our "largest land predators!"
Feathered Quill Book Reviews
Arctic mammals are especially fascinating to children. This book series explores these mammals from birth through their first year of life. The books were written with ages 5 to 7 and grades K to 2 in mind, but older and younger children will also enjoy this series. Each book in this series focuses on one arctic mammal and follows it, in its natural habitat, from birth through the first year of life. Sidebars, fun facts, and maps are scattered throughout each book. Also included is a glossary, an index, a list of safe websites to explore at Fact Hound, and a map of where the animals live in the world. Included at the very beginning of the book is a listing of where the animal lives, its habitat, food, length and weight, animal class, and scientific name. Other plants and animals that would be in the animal’s habitat are identified. The leader of the Polar Bear Project for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service served as a consultant on this book, and the facts scattered throughout are fascinating. For instance, polar bears dig tunnels for their dens, and they may be 6 to 30 feet long. At birth, the polar bear is the size of a squirrel, weighing about 1 to 3 pounds, and by 3 months, the cub may weigh 20 pounds. Polar bears can swim 60 miles without stopping and sniff a seal 20 miles away. Their hairs are hollow and act like little greenhouses, trapping heat to help keep the animal warm. Their black skin also allows them to absorb heat. The author uses her characteristic cut-paper illustrations, with no photos or actual pictures. While they are art, they are still accurate and appealing. I still found myself longing for a “real” picture of a polar bear, but this was not enough to detract from my overall recommendation. I also found several pictures that show very human expressions on the cubs, but again, this was not enough to detract from my overall recommendation. This book is very interesting, filled with loads of information, and is highly recommended.
Caroline Arnold's A Polar's Bear's World is a great way to learn about polar bears! This welcome addition to the Caroline Arnold's Animals series is a great introduction to polar bears that I would recommend to children of all ages... I even learned a great deal about this large predator myself.... The pictures or illustrations of the polar bears and other animals such as walruses, ringed seals, caribou, snow geese, and arctic foxes were nicely drawn. The text was clear, concise, and easy to read. The story was easy to follow. The colors were warm and in some cases HUGE but that lest we forget, polar bears are HUGE. There is no natural predator for them except human hunters! Looks can indeed be deceiving because polar bears look so warm and cuddly in pictures, film, video, and even in person but they will "eat you alive!" Not having a natural predator in the wild kingdom, they know no fear!!!!!!!!!!!! I enjoyed learning facts about polar bears that I learned by first opening the book. I learned that polar bears live in Alaska, Canada, Greenland, Norway, and Russia. Their natural habitats include the Arctic ice sheet, coastlines, and the tundra. They like to eat seals, walruses, and beached whales. They can grow to be 6.6 to 10 feet. Males weigh between 660 to 1760 pounds and females weigh between 330 to 660 pounds. They are of the mammal animal class. Their scientific name is Ursus maritimus. Do you know what baby polar bears are called? Yes... CUBS! I liked how the author placed "short facts" off to the side of the page in yellow. This is eye catching. They are short and to the point so they blend in quite nicely with the rest of the story! Here is an example: "At birth, a polar bear cub is the size of a squirrel. It weighs about 1.3 pounds or 0.6kg! Here's another short fact: from the book: "Polar bears are good swimmers. They can swim 60 miles (96 kilometers) without stopping." I would recommend this book to children of all ages. If students are writing reports on polar bears or mammals this would be a great way to get started. Smaller children will enjoy the pictures and the older ones will be interested in the facts too! I liked the resources that Caroline Arnold included at the end. These included: A colorful map on "Where do polar bears live?" She included on the next page Polar Bear Fun Facts, a Glossary, To Learn More, More Books to Read, Internet Sites, an Index, and a Look for all of the books in Caroline Arnold's Animals series. This seems to be a trend for most of her books in this series. I think it is a great idea and I hope that students and their parents, teachers, librarians, and others will utilize these wonderful resources at the end. You can tell that a great deal of time, energy, and research was spent gathering this information on polar bears! Want to learn a little bit about the author Caroline Arnold? Just check out her short bio and picture at the end of this well researched and written book on polar bears!!!!!!! Animal lovers of all ages will enjoy this lovely book!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Wouldn't you agree??????????? Kudos to Caroline Arnold for another job... WELL DONE!!!!!!!!!!!! http://dailychildbook.blogspot.com/2010/04/polar-bears-world-caroline-arnolds.html
Children’s Book a Day blog
Summary: What is a Polar Bear's World like? Where do they live? What do they eat? What do they do? How do they raise their young? These questions and more are answered in storybook format. (The rest of the series: Bald Eagle, Kangaroo, Killer Whale, Koala, Moose, Panda, Penguin, Platypus, Walrus, Wombat and Zebra) Review: This book is a great introduction to polar bears for young children but may be a bit long for the K crowd. The illustrations look like pieces of paper cut to shape and then layered. Other animals pictured have their name near them and there are polar bear facts peppered throughout in addition to the text. Excerpt: "By late fall, the ocean freezes again. Now the polar bears can go back on the ice. Sharp claws and leathery pads keep their feet from slipping. When the bears come to the edge of the ice, they leap into the water. Splash!" http://smsbookreviews.blogspot.com/2010/07/jaunt-through-capstone-publishers.html
