Take a photo of a barcode or cover
bigfriendlygeek 's review for:
The Last Bear
by Hannah Gold
I know it's been a long, long, long time since I was a kid but I swear that I didn't enjoy reading children's fiction as much as I did "The Last Bear" when I was young. Sure, I grew up on Roald Dahl, C.S. Lewis and Beatrix Potter who were phenomenal writers in different ways, but I don't think any of their books had as much gravitas and thought-provoking topics as Hannah Gold's debut novel does.
April Wood is an 11-year old girl that has more of an affinity with animals than with people - moreso after the death of her mother from a car accident when she was 4. Her mother's death sent her scientist father retreating into his work, distancing himself from everyone, including April, from grief. However, when her she and her father ares sent to Bear Island - an island that used to be abundantly populated by Polar Bears before global warming melted the ice craps - so that he can study the temperature changes in the Arctic, April hopes that with them being the only two people on the island will bring her and her father closer again. But, April's father continues his work with the same fervour and distance as he did back in England, so April has nothing left to do but explore the now-deserted island. But, the island isn't as deserted as it first appears as she makes a larger-than-life friend in the very large, furry shape of the island's last remaining Polar Bear.
Hannah did such a wonderful job of bringing Bear Island to life - it's a real place south of the Norwegian archipelago of Svalbard and despite being barely (bearly?) 70 square miles, she clearly did her research and made it into a wondrous place that I'd love to visit. Not only that, she beautifully crafted the fraught, if loving, relationship of April and her Father, and April's various encounters with the Polar Bear.
While you can't imagine a small girl befriending a Polar Bear in real life, Hannah made it seemed like it could be possible and did it in such a way that makes it completely believable with a mix of joy, wonder, love and respect - with April finding the companionship and love she was so sorely lacking back home. But she also manages to capture the pain and loneliness that both April and her Father were feeling following April's mothers death with sensitivity and grace, and also gets across the urgency and gravity of the situation of of climate change and human being's disregard for our habitat in which live and disrespect so much. It absolutely captivated me, a 41-year old person, and made me want to do better for our planet. When you add in the gorgeous illustrations of Levi Pinfold to bring this wonderful story to life even further, you have an absolutely wonderful children's book that will strike joy, and conversation, in both kids and adults alike and one that belongs on the shelf of anyone and everyone.
April Wood is an 11-year old girl that has more of an affinity with animals than with people - moreso after the death of her mother from a car accident when she was 4. Her mother's death sent her scientist father retreating into his work, distancing himself from everyone, including April, from grief. However, when her she and her father ares sent to Bear Island - an island that used to be abundantly populated by Polar Bears before global warming melted the ice craps - so that he can study the temperature changes in the Arctic, April hopes that with them being the only two people on the island will bring her and her father closer again. But, April's father continues his work with the same fervour and distance as he did back in England, so April has nothing left to do but explore the now-deserted island. But, the island isn't as deserted as it first appears as she makes a larger-than-life friend in the very large, furry shape of the island's last remaining Polar Bear.
Hannah did such a wonderful job of bringing Bear Island to life - it's a real place south of the Norwegian archipelago of Svalbard and despite being barely (bearly?) 70 square miles, she clearly did her research and made it into a wondrous place that I'd love to visit. Not only that, she beautifully crafted the fraught, if loving, relationship of April and her Father, and April's various encounters with the Polar Bear.
While you can't imagine a small girl befriending a Polar Bear in real life, Hannah made it seemed like it could be possible and did it in such a way that makes it completely believable with a mix of joy, wonder, love and respect - with April finding the companionship and love she was so sorely lacking back home. But she also manages to capture the pain and loneliness that both April and her Father were feeling following April's mothers death with sensitivity and grace, and also gets across the urgency and gravity of the situation of of climate change and human being's disregard for our habitat in which live and disrespect so much. It absolutely captivated me, a 41-year old person, and made me want to do better for our planet. When you add in the gorgeous illustrations of Levi Pinfold to bring this wonderful story to life even further, you have an absolutely wonderful children's book that will strike joy, and conversation, in both kids and adults alike and one that belongs on the shelf of anyone and everyone.