Did you know? This year, February 27 is National Polar Bear Day. A day to celebrate and learn about polar bears is always a good day!
A great place to start is right here at the library — we have many books about these amazing bears. Learn where they live, what their day is like and what challenges polar bears face in their own habitat, then snuggle up for a fun read with polar bears as characters in these beautifully illustrated stories.
The Polar Bear by Jenni Desmond
A gorgeously illustrated nonfiction book about the polar bear, this is a factually accurate as well as a poetic exploration of polar bear bodies, habits, and habitats. Working in a painterly, expressive way, Jenni Desmond creates landscapes and creatures that are marked by atmosphere and emotion, telling a story about bears that engages the reader's interest in amazing facts as well as their deep sense of wonder.
If Polar Bears Disappeared by Lily Williams
The freezing ecosystem in the far north of the globe is home to many different kinds of animals. They can be strong, like a walrus, tough, like a lemming, resilient, like an arctic fox. But no arctic animal is as iconic as the polar bear. Unfortunately, the endangered polar bear is threatened with extinction due to rapid climate change that is causing the ice where it hunts/lives to melt at an alarming rate. This book uses accessible, charming art to explore what would happen if the sea ice melts, causing the extinction of polar bears, and how it would affect environments around the globe.
Polar Bear by Candace Fleming;; illustrated by Eric Rohmann
As spring approaches in the Arctic, a mother polar bear and her two cubs tentatively emerge from hibernation to explore the changing landscape. When it is time, she takes her cubs on a forty-mile journey, back to their home on the ice. Along the way, she fends off wolves, hunts for food, and swims miles and miles.
A Bear Far From Home by Susan Fletcher; illustrated by Rebecca Green
Long ago, when kings and queens ruled much of the world, the king of Norway gave the king of England a bear. Imagine a polar bear at ease in her natural arctic world, her only home — until trappers capture her and take her to the king of England. Imagine a polar bear in her lonely new world, stuck in a cage. This small, enclosed space is her only home, until King Henry III decrees that she be brought to the Thames River every day to swim and fish. Imagine now this same polar bear dipping a curious paw in the river water, then leaping in with a joyful splash. And it is here, in this unfamiliar, faraway land, in one small way, that she finds home once again.
Ebook available from Overdrive
A solitary polar bear makes her way across the sea ice in pursuit of food. As the ice melts and food becomes scarce, she is forced to swim for days. Finally, storm-tossed and exhausted, she finds shelter on land, where she has her cubs and waits for the sea to freeze again. This gorgeously illustrated book is the perfect marriage of scientific fact and poetry and will resonate with readers of all ages.
Ida, Always by Caron Lewis; illustrated by Charles Santoso
Gus lives in a big park in the middle of an even bigger city, and he spends his days with Ida. Ida is right there, always. Then one sad day, Gus learns that Ida is very sick, and she isn’t going to get better. The friends help each other face the difficult news with whispers, sniffles, cuddles, and even laughs. Slowly Gus realizes that even after Ida is gone, she will still be with him — through the sounds of their city, and the memories that live in their favorite spots.
A Polar Bear in the Snow by Mac Barnett; illustrated by Shaw Harris
Follow a magnificent polar bear through a fantastic world of snow and shockingly blue sea. Over the ice, through the water, past arctic animals and even a human ... where is he going? What does he want? Simple and thought-provoking, illuminating and intriguing, this engaging picture book will have readers pondering the answer to its final question long after the polar bear has continued on his way.
Caspian Finds a Friend by Jacqueline Véissid; illustrated by Merrilees Brown
Caspian lives alone in a lighthouse surrounded by the cold gray-blue sea, longing for a friend; so one day he puts a message in a bottle and floats it away in the sea, but the friend who finds it is someone completely unexpected.
Be sure to check our catalog and Overdrive Kids eReading Room for these titles and many more being added.
Have a question for Free Library staff? Please submit it to our Ask a Librarian page and receive a response within two business days.