A BEAR FAR FROM HOME
By: Susan Fletcher
Illustrated by: Rebecca Green
Published: September 27, 2022
Publisher: Anne Schwartz Books/Random House Kids
Fiction
After her mother was trapped and taken by hunters, a young polar bear was gifted from the King of Norway to the King of England. This is a fictional picture book based on King Henry’s real bear that lived more than seven hundred years ago.
Rebecca Green took great care to illustrate the bear’s emotions and set the reader into the time frame of the 1200s, with Medieval touches including clothing and architecture. Fletcher took care to research this story along with adding in her own assumptions to create a magical story for kids about a special young bear.
This story of a young bear captured and sent to live in a new land, along with other strange animals gifted to the King takes us back to a much different time and place in history. Unfortunately, England was not a normal land for the polar bear and the King needed to come up with a new way for the polar bear to survive. Even though she didn’t have her mom to teach her, the bear finds that swimming in the Thames River is almost just like home.
If your child likes folk tales or stories of Kings and history, this story of a sweet bear raised far from her home might just be for them.
Susan Fletcher has written numerous books for children, including the middle-grade novel Journey of the Pale Bear, which Kirkus called “a stupendous coming-of-age” novel in a starred review. Her novel Alphabet of Dreams was selected by the American Library Association as a Best Book for Young Adults. Susan is also the author of the Dragon Chronicles, composed of Dragon’s Milk, Flight of the Dragon Kyn, Sign of the Dove, Ancient, Strange, and Lovely; Shadow Spinner, Walk Across the Sea, and Falcon in the Glass. She lives in Bryan, Texas. Visit her at SusanFletcher.com.
Rebecca Green is the illustrator of the best-selling Becoming a Good Creature, written by Sy Montgomery, as well as Loujain Dreams of Sunflowers, Madame Saqui: Revolutionary Rope Dancer, and How to Make Friends with a Ghost, which she also wrote. Visit her at myblankpaper.com.
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Thanks to the publisher for sending a copy of this book for the purpose of this review. This review is my honest opinion. If you choose to make a purchase through the above links, I may receive a small commission without you having to pay a cent more for your purchase.
Posted Under Book Review, Children's books, England, fiction, Norway, Polar Bear, Rebecca Green, Susan Fletcher