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4.18 AVERAGE
4.18 AVERAGE
I think if I was a younger reader I would have enjoyed this more. The relationship between the main characters was sweet and wholesome. It was wonderful to see the little girl have such a bond with the polar bear as I remember of dreaming of things like that as a little girl. I enjoyed the aspects tied in of what is happening to the polar bears and the ice caps melting even though it’s a fictional story. Be prepared that there is parent death, an absent/distracted father, and the mention of an animal death (very brief).
This was beautifully written and heart-wrenchingly pure. I don’t usually enjoy adventure stories but it kept me intrigued the whole way through and I loved the underlying ecological message. I’m sure it will inspire many children to act for our planet!
emotional
hopeful
informative
lighthearted
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
PHOTO: POLAR BEAR CLINGS TO LAST ICE
At 288 pages, this might be a bit long for some third graders, but it's an enormously satisfying read and will carry them into both fantasy and reality at once. This was Hannah Gold's debut novel; she was inspired to write it when, in 2019, she read that a lone bear had been seen on Bear Island in the Arctic Circle for the first time in 8 years.
April is an 11-year old girl who lost her mom when she was just four years old. Her father, a climate scientist, has been sad and neglectfully remote ever since. She's taken on the role of woman of the house, but the house, and her relationship with her dad, seems broken. When he announces he's accepted a job to live for six months on an island in the Arctic Circle, April is overjoyed. Sleigh rides! Snowball fights! Exploring the island all over, together! This seems a dream that might even come true, since they'll be the only people on the whole island.
When they get there, however, she sees there are two cabins: one to live in, very spare, and one for work. Her father disappears into the second one and April is left more alone than ever before. Still, the island calls to her:
"...[D]espite the cold, or maybe because of it, the air felt clean. It was a smell that reminded her of freshly washed sheets or the way the seaside smelled after a storm. It smelled so good, she wanted to drink it."
She begins to explore on her own after her dad gives her a compass. Each day she ventures a little farther, and then:
"...[O]n the horizon, silhouetted against the sun, something moved. It was in the blink of an eye. So rapid she almost missed it. Something big and loping and most unexpected. It couldn’t be? She blinked again. Whatever it was had gone. But April could have sworn she’d just seen a polar bear."
April's mom had had a special gift, an empathy with animals so big she could practically have conversations with them. April feels her mom was "like rainbows." And she shares her gift. But when she asks her dad about the possibility of bears on the island, he gives her disappointing, very sad news:
"...'[I]f the ice caps around here are melting . . .' “Melted,” Dad corrected. “Melted,” April amended. “If the ice caps around here have melted, does that mean a bear can never get back to Bear Island?” “Not if there aren’t any ice caps. The nearest polar bear population is based in Svalbard, which is nearly two hundred and fifty miles away. In the old days, that’s where they would have traveled from to get to Bear Island, but now it’s just too far for them to swim.” “Not even one?” she asked in a tiny voice, picturing the bear in her mind. Not even one.' ”
But there IS a bear on Bear Island:
"...[S]he became rooted to the ground as every nerve in her body buzzed and hummed like electricity. It was as if time suddenly froze, or at least slowed down. The air itself felt sharp and still. The wind stopped. Even the sea held its breath. And April knew that if she looked up, her life would never be the same again. That this moment itself was going to alter her in some way. Maybe even forever. She slowly raised her eyes. And there, standing on the other side of the beach, about 150 feet away, was the most magnificent creature she had ever seen."
It takes her a long time to win the bear's grudging trust, but it's hurt. One front paw is tightly wound with plastic; it's badly swollen and she understands the bear cannot hunt well without all his paws. In fact, his fur his yellowish and matted, she can see his ribs and his face is hollowed. " 'Oh, you poor thing,' she murmured. “You’re starving.' ”
With oat biscuits and lots and LOTS of peanut butter (April and I agree that crunchy is the only kind), and a few cans of sardines, she and Bear get close. So close, she's able to remove the plastic on his paw with her father's Swiss Army knife. And THAT is the beginning of a beautiful, albeit fantastical, summer of eternal sun.
The Last Bear is beautifully written, and April and her dad's characters are well developed. Hopefully even third graders will understand that April's friendship with a polar bear is an impossible fantasy. Hopefully, too, they'll become aware of what's happening around the world in climate change--at one point, April even mentions her ire about the destruction of the Amazon. She's clearly already a climate activist, and that's the focus of the book once we're past the lovely fantasy.
Since that lone appearance in 2019, no other bears have been sighted on the island named after them.
A beautiful story following a young girl and polar bear that is full of friendship and nature and how we can connect with it to save it.
April is not your average girl, instead of going to school she is about to go Bear Island up in the Artic with her scientist father so he can measure the climate patterns for 6 months. Though it's called Bear Island, there hasn't been any polar bears living there in years, that is until April happens upon one with its paw wrapped in plastic litter. Over the next few months April begins to befriend and take care of 'Bear', learning the truths of his lonely life that mirrors hers and how they find happiness in each other.
This wonderful story captures the true courage and kindness the next generation have in their heart for the safety of our planet in the form of April, a great character to follow, but it also doesn't shy away from showing that adults and those leaving the planet to them need to work harder to make sure the damage is reversible. Obviously the author is not encouraging kids to find wild polar bears to befriend, but through this fictional story she presents the facts of the ice caps melting etc. in an amazing tale of friendship between April & Bear and the small deeds we all can do to help in anyway we can.
The hardback edition is beautiful and the illustrations really add to the wonderous atmosphere of the book. I also listened to this by audio book and the narrator Helen Phillips did a great job adding to the magic of the story with her voicework.
Thank you to Harper Collins and Netgalley for the early eArc of the book!
April is not your average girl, instead of going to school she is about to go Bear Island up in the Artic with her scientist father so he can measure the climate patterns for 6 months. Though it's called Bear Island, there hasn't been any polar bears living there in years, that is until April happens upon one with its paw wrapped in plastic litter. Over the next few months April begins to befriend and take care of 'Bear', learning the truths of his lonely life that mirrors hers and how they find happiness in each other.
This wonderful story captures the true courage and kindness the next generation have in their heart for the safety of our planet in the form of April, a great character to follow, but it also doesn't shy away from showing that adults and those leaving the planet to them need to work harder to make sure the damage is reversible. Obviously the author is not encouraging kids to find wild polar bears to befriend, but through this fictional story she presents the facts of the ice caps melting etc. in an amazing tale of friendship between April & Bear and the small deeds we all can do to help in anyway we can.
The hardback edition is beautiful and the illustrations really add to the wonderous atmosphere of the book. I also listened to this by audio book and the narrator Helen Phillips did a great job adding to the magic of the story with her voicework.
Thank you to Harper Collins and Netgalley for the early eArc of the book!
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief
April's dad tells her that there are no bears left on Bear Island, the remote Scandinavian island where he is staying for six months to do research on climate change. April, who has come with him, begs to differ. Left to her own devices while her dad works, April soon discovers that her father was wrong and over the space of one, magical summer, she builds a bond with a stranded, injured polar bear and in attempting to save his life, she might just save us all.
adventurous
challenging
hopeful
informative
inspiring
lighthearted
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
hopeful
inspiring
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated