"
Polar Bear is both a paean to a swiftly changing Arctic habitat and a deeply affecting story about fierce mother love. . . . While Fleming's narration is building suspense and wonder, the Caldecott medalist Eric Rohmann's lush paintings move in for close-ups and stretch out to reveal the fantastic breadth of an icy landscape. . . . Fleming and Rohmann's respect and awe for these animals is palpable."
--The New York Times ★ "With their usual dynamism and immediacy, Fleming and Rohmann turn their attention to polar bears. . . . [An] outstanding book.."
--The Horn Book, Starred Review ★ "Gorgeous illustrations capture a fragile ecosystem, making this an outstanding collaboration that belongs in all library collections."
--School Library Journal, Starred Review ★ "Using lyric prose that carefully avoids anthropomorphism, Fleming vividly depicts this Hudson Bay, Ontario, setting and these apex predators. . . . Rohmann's magnificent oil paintings feature blue, green, and gray backgrounds that nicely set off the bears. . . . A majestic polar plunge not to be missed."
--Booklist, Starred Review "
Polar Bear wisely and effectively brings climate change into focus. . . . Another wondrous collaboration from the Sibert Medal-winning team of Candace Fleming and Eric Rohmann (
Honeybee). Fleming masterfully builds suspense, and her text will have readers rooting hard for this family of bears. . . . Her lovely, lilting prose accompanies Caldecott Medalist Rohmann's breathtaking oil illustrations, which include an effective double gatefold showing the struggling bears adrift after ice melts too early."
--Shelf Awareness "Portrays beauty and suspense. . . . Fleming's lengthy verses persuasively portray the world through a polar bear's senses, and Rohmann's vivid close-ups of the bears are matched by spacious spreads that capture the distinctive light of the north."
--Publishers Weekly "With the same care for detail and drama brought to the honeybee in
Honeybee: The Busy Life of Apis Mellifera (BCCB 2/20), Fleming turns here to the polar bear. . . . Fleming brings a lyricism to her depiction, with a gentle cadence moving steadily alongside the family. . . . Rohmann's signature painterly art . . . highlight[s] the regality and strength of her form backgrounded by wintry scenes in sweeps of whites, blues, and grays."
--The Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books
