The Polar Bear Son: An Inuit Tale

by Lydia Dabcovich (Illustrator)

Overview

A lonely old woman adopts, cares for, and raises a polar bear as if he were her own son in this retelling of a traditional Inuit folktale.

When jealous villagers threaten the bear's life, he is forced to leave his home and his "mother."

"The story gives a picture of motherly love toward an 'adopted child,' one the woman will love always. Heartwarming." —School Library Journal

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780395975671
Publisher:	HarperCollins
Publication date:	03/29/1999
Pages:	40
Sales rank:	126,405
Product dimensions:	10.31(w) x 9.00(h) x 0.12(d)
Lexile:	AD660L (what's this?)
Age Range:	4 - 7 Years

About the Author

Lydia Dabcovich is the author/illustrator of many books for children. She lives with her husband in Brookline, Massachusetts.

Editorial Reviews

"Illustrated in muted pastel colors, the pictures capture this stark, yet beautiful, winter world. . . . A heartwarming selection to fill requests for multicultural picture books and/or books on this region." — School Library Journal

From the Publisher

K-Gr 2A whimsical tale in which an old Eskimo-Inuit woman adopts an orphan polar bear cub that provides food for her as it grows up. When the men of the village grow jealous of the animal's superior hunting ability and decide to kill it, she sends it away. For years afterward, she walks far out on the ice and meets the bear, who brings her salmon and seal. The story gives a picture of motherly love toward an "adopted child," one the woman will love always. "Little Bear," a selection in The Dancing Fox (Morrow, 1997), edited by John Bierhorst, is a similar tale, but the villains in that retelling are neighboring villagers who threaten to kill the bear since it is catching their food sources, and the woman and bear are never reunited. Thus, Polar Bear Son has a more satisfying ending. Illustrated in muted pastel colors, the pictures capture this stark, yet beautiful, winter world. The clothing styles are of Greenland Inuit but the landscape could be anywhere in the Arctic. The author gives explanations about the background and her research into Inuit tales. A heartwarming selection to fill requests for multicultural picture books and/or books on this region.Mollie Bynum, formerly at Chester Valley Elementary School, Anchorage, AK

School Library Journal