Title: Ice Bear
Author: Nicola Davies
Illustrator: Gary Blythe
Publisher: Walker Books
Genre: Children’s picture book, Non-fiction, Nature
Book format: Paperback
Sweet strawberries: 
Description: Huge and magnificent, the polar bear roams the frozen Arctic – a powerful hunter, tender mother and gentle playmate. Come witness the majesty of ICE BEAR!
*Free copy provided by publisher as part of the ‘Nature Storybooks: Every Wonderful Word is True’ collection, for review…
Review: This is a beautifully illustrated and wonderful book all about the polar bear. A little wider and shorter than A4 in size this picture book is filled with glossy and thick pages of some very stunning and beautiful illustrations and text. ‘Ice Bear’ is a non-fiction book which gives kids an introduction to life for the polar bear.
The ‘story’ of the polar bear is told by an unknown Inuit narrator who begins by telling us the Inuit name for the polar bear, before explaining all about this creature and how it lives. The book explains different features of the polar bear such as fascinating facts about its fur coat and the fur itself which I didn’t know. It then goes on to tell us little facts like the size of the polar bear, how far and fast it can run swim and hunt before showing us a bit about how the mothers take care of their young. All of the facts told though are explained in a very simple and easy way to understand with minimal text and are all very interesting.
Although the book is fascinating to just read it’s really the pictures that make you want to look at it. Every double page is filled with a picture or two and they all look like beautiful canvas paintings. I love good artwork but these illustrations almost feel magical and even though most images are various shades of white the pictures are all so beautiful and realistic that I would buy this book for the pictures alone!
The last page of this book has a notes to teachers and parents sections. This is because the book supports Key Stage 1-2 of both Science and English so is a great book to have both at home and in the classroom. What I love more than anything is how simple the book is and at the same time, how engaging. There’s something that just makes me want to look at this book again and again and I can’t help but feel its the beautiful pictures. But at the same time as those pictures are the interesting facts about the bear and it makes learning and becoming interested in this creature much easier. I would have loved this book as a child and think it’s the ideal gift for any kids interested in animals or for those who want to raise awareness of these beautiful creatures.
-Review first appeared online February 2018 – now republished here.
What do you think of this book and its illustrations? Do you like polar bears or bears in general? Let me know what you think in the comments below 🙂
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