Polar Bears

by Gail Gibbons

Overview

The polar bear is the biggest and most powerful of the animals that are able to survive the hostile climate of the Arctic. Cubs are born during the cold dark winter, even though they start out with only a thin coat of fur and weigh a little over one pound. The mothers raise and teach them so they may grow and survive in the wild. Here is information about how polar bears swim and hunt, how they keep warm and dry, and the many other ways they adapt to their environment.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780823417681
Publisher:	Holiday House
Publication date:	09/01/2002
Edition description:	Illustrate
Pages:	32
Sales rank:	434,413
Product dimensions:	9.78(w) x 10.01(h) x 0.11(d)
Lexile:	770L (what's this?)
Age Range:	4 - 8 Years

About the Author

Gail Gibbons "has taught more preschoolers and early readers about the world than any other children's writer-illustrator," according to the Washington Post. Winner of the 2010 Regina Award, she has written and illustrated more than fifty books for Holiday House. She lives in Corinth, Vermont.

Editorial Reviews

Gr 1-4-This charmingly illustrated book is full of facts about this Arctic animal: where it lives, what it eats, how it gets its food, when it mates, how it rears its young, and the dangers it faces. Temperatures are given in Fahrenheit and Celsius, weight in pounds and kilograms, height in feet and meters. Although lots of information is imparted, some readers may be left with questions. For example, the text states that a polar bear "is able to catch a seal about every five days." Does this mean it only feeds every five days? Despite minor flaws, this book will be a useful introduction to these magnificent animals, and readers will be enticed by the appealing illustrations, many of which are labeled.-Edith Ching, St. Albans School, Mt. St. Alban, Washington, DC Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information.

School Library Journal

Largest of the bears, the familiar white polar bear inhabits the ice and waters of the Arctic Circle catching seals, caribou, seabirds, and when meat cannot be found, berries, mushrooms, and seaweed. Gibbons describes how polar bears are adapted to the harsh climate where temperatures can fall to minus-30 degrees Fahrenheit, explaining how the white guard hairs trap warm air near the bear's body, the black skin absorbs sunlight, and a thick layer of fat keeps the bear warm. Handsome watercolor paintings show big and baby bears hunting, eating, swimming, and sleeping. She is especially facile at capturing the many shades of white in the bear's fur, and the blue white texture of the ice flows. Gibbons also captures the dignity of the bears, almost hunted to extinction in the 1970s and now making a comeback in the wild, while including the details children so enjoy. For example, a bear can eat 150 pounds of seal at one meal, but only eats the blubber and skin. She concludes with a warning about pollution and other dangers for polar bears, and brief bear facts. Another fine science title by a prolific author of books for young readers. (Nonfiction. 6-9)

Kirkus Reviews