A Polar Bear in the Snow

by Mac Barnett, Shawn Harris (Illustrator)

Overview

A majestic polar bear heads out on a mysterious walk in a dazzling, playful collaboration from an exciting pair of picture-book creators.

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? Acclaimed author Mac Barnett’s narration deftly balances suspense and emotion, as well as poignant, subtle themes, compelling us to follow the bear with each page turn. Artist Shawn Harris’s striking torn-paper illustrations layer white-on-white hues, with bolts of blue and an interplay of shadow and light, for a gorgeous view of a stark yet beautiful landscape. 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.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781536203967
Publisher:	Candlewick Press
Publication date:	10/13/2020
Pages:	40
Sales rank:	130,848
Product dimensions:	8.50(w) x 11.20(h) x 0.40(d)
Lexile:	AD360L (what's this?)
Age Range:	3 - 7 Years

About the Author

Mac Barnett, the 2025–2026 National Ambassador for Young People’s Literature, is a New York Times best-selling author of stories for children. His work has been translated into more than thirty languages and sold more than five million copies worldwide. Mac Barnett’s books have won many prizes, including two Caldecott Honors, three New York Times/ New York Public Library Best Illustrated Children’s Book Awards, three E. B. White Read-Aloud Awards, the Boston Globe–Horn Book Award, Germany’s Jugendliteraturpreis, China’s Chen Bochui International Children’s Literature Award, the Netherlands’ Zilveren Griffel, and Italy’s Premio Orbil. He is the cocreator, with Jon Klassen, of the Substack Looking at Picture Books, as well as Shape Island, a stop-motion animated series on Apple TV+, based on their best-selling Shapes series of picture books. Mac Barnett lives in Oakland, California.

Shawn Harris is an artist and musician who began his career by doing record and poster art for his band, the Matches, in 2003. Since then he has created art for musicians such as Adele, Snoop Dogg, and 311. His first picture book, Her Right Foot, was written by Dave Eggers. Have You Ever Seen a Flower?, a picture book written and illustrated by Shawn Harris, was named a Caldecott Honor Book in 2022. Shawn Harris lives in Morongo Valley, California.

Editorial Reviews

★ 09/07/2020

Barnett (Paolo, Emperor of Rome) and Harris (Everyone’s Awake) open with an empty sheet of heavily textured white paper. “There is a polar bear in the snow,” the text reads, and a page turn reveals a few delicate charcoal marks: the bear’s black snout emerges (“he lifts his nose/ to sniff the air”). A reframe reveals the polar bear’s huge body, rendered in graceful curves of stiff white paper. “Where is he going?” Barnett asks. Subsequent spreads show the seals that the bear is not going to visit (“He is not hungry”) and the cave he is not going to hunker down in (“His fur protects him from the storm”). In photographed collages, the shadows of superimposed forms offer a sense of depth and even distance. The polar bear approaches the sea, leaps in, and dives and spins. One mesmerizing spread views the bear deep underwater, sun shining through the depths, surrounded by fish. Barnett’s humor, just right for littlest readers, adds warmth, while Harris concentrates on the elemental beauty of Arctic life with minimalist forms add simple textures that contrast the fragility of the paper with the strength of the bear. Ages 3–7. (Oct.)

Publishers Weekly

The captivating cut-paper–and-ink illustrations are appropriately atmospheric, offering varied perspectives. They perfectly suit the prose’s quiet grandeur, and occasional blank or nearly blank pages suggest a completely snow-blanketed bear. The art reflects the peace, solitude, and colors of the Arctic habitat and depicts other wildlife that reside there, such as seals on which polar bears prey and arctic foxes. Charming, scenic, and a winning must for the youngest polar bear lovers.
—Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

The four spreads depicting his undersea adventures are particularly appealing, portraying the bear swimming playfully among a myriad of sea creatures. With a snarky ending that Barnett readers have come to expect ("Where will he go then? / Who knows?"), this can be widely shared with little ones participating in one-on-one lap sits and toddler story hours to those beginning to read independently.
—Booklist (starred review)

The questions the text asks are a great hook for children, who can listen for cues and become part of the storytelling. The effective paper-cut collage scenes of the polar bear contrast with the blue of the ocean, complete with an ebullient underwater view of the bear swimming with fish. An engaging, easy-to-read tale, perfect for winter story hours.
—School Library Journal (starred review)

In photographed collages, the shadows of superimposed forms offer a sense of depth and even distance. The polar bear approaches the sea, leaps in, and dives and spins. One mesmerizing spread views the bear deep underwater, sun shining through the depths, surrounded by fish. Barnett’s humor, just right for littlest readers, adds warmth, while Harris concentrates on the elemental beauty of Arctic life with minimalist forms add simple textures that contrast the fragility of the paper with the strength of the bear.
—Publishers Weekly (starred review)

Barnett (The Wolf, the Duck, and the Mouse, rev. 11/17) and Harris (Her Right Foot, rev. 11/17) have created an understated, reflective, and loving portrayal that also serves as a celebration of wonder and wandering.
—The Horn Book

Layers of rough, grainy paper create snowdrifts as well as simply cut creatures, and touches of shadow and black pigment are almost the only contrast until the bear goes into a literal deep dive and everything, including the bear himself, turns into an inviting sky blue.
—Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books

Shawn Harris' wondrous cut paper and ink illustrations are the star in this amusing picture book. . .The tale reflects the wonder of the natural world right up to the last page, of paw prints disappearing into the snow.
—The Buffalo News

From the Publisher

★ 09/01/2020

PreS-Gr 1—Against a textured white landscape with the appearance of newly fallen snow, a polar bear awakens from his nap and the omniscient narrator asks: What will he do next? This striking, impressive bear, hardly more than a nose and eyes in early scenes, takes readers along with him as he encounters other arctic animals—seals playing in the snow—and a man who obviously has been visiting the area. And what the polar bear does next is dive into the ocean and swim with fish. The simple text on each page is large and bold, making this ideal for those just beginning to read. The questions the text asks are a great hook for children, who can listen for cues and become part of the storytelling. The effective paper-cut collage scenes of the polar bear contrast with the blue of the ocean, complete with an ebullient underwater view of the bear swimming with fish. VERDICT An engaging, easy-to-read tale, perfect for winter story hours.—Annmarie Braithwaite, New York P.L., New York City

School Library Journal

★ 2020-07-14
Follow a polar bear in the snow to see where he’s going.

Readers are thus invited into this beautifully poetic story as the bear wends his way toward a destination that soon becomes apparent. Against a backdrop of white, grays, and smudgy touches of black, the majestic animal awakens from a nap in a snowy landscape and glides along, seeking neither food nor shelter—and definitely not a human. The refrain “There is a polar bear in the snow” and the question “Where is he going?” are repeated over the course of the bear’s journey, capturing readers’ attention and building suspense. Then…the background changes to shades of glistening turquoise, clarifying exactly where he was headed—and it all makes perfect sense. Afterward, sheer whiteness reclaims the bear and the scene, and he leaves his footprints and readers behind. This lovely tale is simply and gently told in a hushed tone with minimal text per page and offers up a tantalizing air of mystery about this much-loved creature. The captivating cut-paper–and-ink illustrations are appropriately atmospheric, offering varied perspectives. They perfectly suit the prose’s quiet grandeur, and occasional blank or nearly blank pages suggest a completely snow-blanketed bear. The art reflects the peace, solitude, and colors of the Arctic habitat and depicts other wildlife that reside there, such as seals on which polar bears prey and arctic foxes.

Charming, scenic, and a winning must for the youngest polar bear lovers. (Picture book. 3-7)

Kirkus Reviews