Adrift: An Odd Couple of Polar Bears

by Jessica Olien, Jessica Olien (Illustrator)

Overview

Perfect for fans of Goodnight, Already! and You Will Be My Friend, this is a classic and quirky story of finding friendship where you least expect it, from the author/illustrator of The Blobfish Book and Shark Detective.

Karl and Hazel are polar bears. They are not friends.

Until . . . CRAAACCKKK!

Of all the polar bears, Karl is stuck with one who doesn’t like to talk.

Of all the polar bears, Hazel is stuck with the one who talks too much.

And now they’re drifting out to sea together. . . .

 

Also includes fun facts and resources about polar bears and the Arctic.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780062451774
Publisher:	HarperCollins
Publication date:	01/03/2017
Pages:	40
Product dimensions:	8.90(w) x 10.10(h) x 0.40(d)
Age Range:	4 - 8 Years

About the Author

Jessica Olien is a writer, illustrator, and native midwesterner now living in Brooklyn. Her cartoons have been published by the New Yorker and her writing for grown-ups has been published in Slate, the Atlantic, McSweeney’s, Marie Claire, and many others. She is the author and illustrator of Shark Detective!, The Blobfish Book, Adrift, Right Now, and When a Tiger Comes to Dinner. Visit her at www.jessicaolien.com.

Jessica Olien is a writer, illustrator, and native midwesterner now living in Brooklyn. Her cartoons have been published by the New Yorker and her writing for grown-ups has been published in Slate, the Atlantic, McSweeney’s, Marie Claire, and many others. She is the author and illustrator of Shark Detective!, The Blobfish Book, Adrift, Right Now, and When a Tiger Comes to Dinner. Visit her at www.jessicaolien.com.

Editorial Reviews

10/17/2016
“Karl and Hazel are not friends,” writes Olien (The Blobfish Book) of her polar-opposite polar bear protagonists: Karl is gregarious (and maybe smells “a little” like old fish), while Hazel’s bookish shyness comes off as aloof and judgmental. When part of the ice cap that they occupy breaks off, floats away, and begins to shrink (an afterword explains the effect of global warming on polar habitats), Karl and Hazel realize that they are stuck together in an “endless sea.” Overcoming their initial mutual chilliness, they become best buddies by the time they find land. Olien’s cartooning is boldly graphic and deceptively simple: she works in crisp black outlines, clean shapes, and mostly flat shades of white, blue, and purple, with bright orange for punctuation. Yet the visual earnestness of her cartooning lends real emotional depth to her straightforward storytelling. Karl and Hazel don’t do anything dramatic on the ice floe—they make a snowman, sing songs, play “I spy”—but readers will understand that the friendship they build is one that can weather anything. Ages 4–8. Agent: Brianne Johnson, Writers House. (Jan.)

Publishers Weekly

[With a] tongue-in-cheek text…[this is] an offbeat selection for Valentine’s Day...sneak this one into a primary-grade science unit.” — Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books (starred review)

“The simple storyline and art complement each other as readers are gently guided to comprehend the folly of judging a book by its cover.” — Kirkus Reviews

Praise for THE BLOBFISH BOOK: “Delivers big laughs.” — Publishers Weekly

Praise for SHARK DETECTIVE: “Delightful…the story is strangely inspirational...Many readers will demand further adventures-or imagine them for themselves.” — Kirkus Reviews

Praise for SHARK DETECTIVE: “Nothing slows the determination of chip-munching Shark in this lively romp through the mean streets. He’s one cool sleuth.” — School Library Journal

Praise for SHARK DETECTIVE: “Shark is an endearing goofball worth rooting for.” — Publishers Weekly

From the Publisher

[With a] tongue-in-cheek text…[this is] an offbeat selection for Valentine’s Day...sneak this one into a primary-grade science unit.

Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books (starred review)

[With a] tongue-in-cheek text…[this is] an offbeat selection for Valentine’s Day...sneak this one into a primary-grade science unit.

Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books (starred review)

2016-09-19
What happens when the loudest (and smelliest) polar bear finds himself stuck on an ice floe with the quietest and most fastidious polar bear? They build a wall! Neither Karl nor Hazel wants to have anything to do with the other, but as the ice steadily melts, they get closer and closer both literally and figuratively. Soon they’re playing games, singing songs, and fishing together. As their frozen chunk of real estate shrinks to a standing-room-only platform, they sight land and gleefully jump ashore. Taking off in separate directions, Karl inexplicably searches for fish. (Hasn’t he just left behind a fish-filled ocean?) Hazel, on the other hand, wants to explore and sit by herself. It doesn’t take long before the suddenly lonely bears call out to each other from across the vast new wilderness and reunite, even becoming roommates. The resolution, however pleasing, feels rushed, as the bears jump straight from realizing they’re friends to sharing living quarters. Olien’s palette of blues and stark white offset by bold, black outlines convincingly conjures the chilly Arctic landscape. Round, horn-rimmed glasses and a cheesy smile bring Karl’s gregarious personality to life, and Hazel’s reticent demeanor is nicely paired with an orange polka-dot scarf. Classroom-friendly facts and links about polar bears, climate change, and the Arctic are appended. The simple storyline and art complement each other as readers are gently guided to comprehend the folly of judging a book by its cover. (Picture book. 4-8)

Kirkus Reviews