JOURNEY OF
THE PALE BEAR
by
SUSAN FLETCHER
Middle Grade / Medieval Historical Fiction
(grades 3-7)
Publisher: Margaret K. McElderry Books
(grades 3-7)
Publisher: Margaret K. McElderry Books
Date of Publication: October 2, 2018
Paperback: October 1, 2019
Paperback: October 1, 2019
Number of Pages: 302
Scroll down for the giveaway!
A runaway boy befriends a polar bear that’s being transported from Norway to London in this lyrical and timeless adventure story about freedom, captivity, and finding a family.
Scroll down for the giveaway!
A runaway boy befriends a polar bear that’s being transported from Norway to London in this lyrical and timeless adventure story about freedom, captivity, and finding a family.
The polar bear is a royal bear, a gift from the King of Norway to the King of England. The first time Arthur encounters the bear, he is shoved in her cage as payback for stealing food. Restless and deadly, the bear terrifies him. Yet, strangely, she doesn’t harm him—though she has attacked anyone else who comes near. That makes Arthur valuable to the doctor in charge of getting the bear safely to London. So Arthur, who has run away from home, finds himself taking care of a polar bear on a ship to England.
Tasked with feeding and cleaning up after the bear, Arthur’s fears slowly lessen as he begins to feel a connection to this bear, who like him, has been cut off from her family. But the journey holds many dangers, and Arthur knows his own freedom—perhaps even his life—depends on keeping the bear from harm. When pirates attack and the ship founders, Arthur must make a choice—does he do everything he can to save himself, or does he help the bear to find freedom?
Based on the real story of a polar bear that lived in the Tower of London, this timeless adventure story is also a touching account of the bond between a boy and a bear.
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BRAZOS BOOKSTORE ◆ BLUE WILLOW BOOKSHOP ◆ BOOK PEOPLE
AMAZON ◆ BARNES AND NOBLE ◆ INDIEBOUND
BRAZOS BOOKSTORE ◆ BLUE WILLOW BOOKSHOP ◆ BOOK PEOPLE
AMAZON ◆ BARNES AND NOBLE ◆ INDIEBOUND
ACCOLADES AND PRAISE FOR
JOURNEY OF THE PALE BEAR:
Honor Book, Golden Kite Awards, 2019
Vermont's 2019-2020 Dorothy Canfield Fisher list
2020 Oklahoma Sequoyah Book Award Children's Masterlist
School Library Connection highly recommended book
Junior Library Guild Selection
50 Must-Read Historical Fiction Books for Kids, bookriot.com
“…a stupendous coming-of-age-tale stuffed with adventure and laced with deeper questions… A richly satisfying story saturated with color, adventure, and heart.” –Kirkus, starred review
“I simply adore this novel. It has it all: gorgeous prose, fascinating history, riveting adventure. But it’s the unlikely tender friendship between a lonely boy and a polar bear that makes this a story to cherish. A lovely little miracle of a book.”
–Katherine Applegate, Newbery Medal-winning author of The One and Only Ivan
“I loved every single thing about this large-hearted and riveting medieval adventure.” —William Alexander, National Book Award-winning author of Goblin Secrets
“I loved every single thing about this large-hearted and riveting medieval adventure.” —William Alexander, National Book Award-winning author of Goblin Secrets
✪✪✪✪✪
HALL WAYS REVIEW: Oh,
what a beautiful escape it is to read Journey of the Pale Bear. From the
first few pages, readers are transported to a far-away place and time where
they will stay enthralled, entrenched, and utterly enchanted. I am amazed that
author Susan Fletcher took a fleck of a fact, a mere morsel from history, and
then wove an entire and entirely feasible tale around it. Her research (shared
in “A Note from the Author”) and her drive to find answers is impressive.
Susan Fletcher is a
gifted storyteller whose lyrical sentences flow across the pages and into the
reader’s soul. Fletcher has taken great care to select words and sentence structures that
put readers firmly in the thirteenth century. Admittedly, I occasionally
referenced the dictionary to confirm definitions of unfamiliar words, but the
word choices are part of what contribute to the authenticity of the story. In this
modern world of pared-down, dumbed-down communication, it’s refreshing when an
author challenges young (and old) readers with vocabulary yet provides enough
context clues that the words only enhance the story. Fletcher has raised the
bar.
All of those glorious words
are what reading Journey of the Pale Bear a truly sensory experience. Fletcher’s
descriptive details – of everything from breathtaking landscape to breath-halting
bear dung – provide for an immersive experience. (Like it or not!) Readers will
be able to see the sea, feel the fur, taste the meals, hear the surf, and yes,
smell the odors of sailing with man and bear on a thirteenth century ship. Again,
the author’s talent shines in her evocative writing.
“She makes a sound, then: a low,
rumbling sigh that tunnels up from the heart of the earth.”
And then, there is the boy
and the bear. I say “is” because “the boy and the bear” are a singular unit,
whether together or separated by walls or wilderness. And it is this relationship
that is the joy of the story. The bond is unexplained, organic, and beautiful. While we don’t know the bear’s thoughts – this
is realistic historical fiction – we sense that she and Arthur are like-minded
in the overwhelming sense of not belonging and longing for a freedom that’s likely
not within reach.
There are other
relationships as well, and not all of them are beautiful. Arthur experiences isolation
and bullying and rejection and yearns for acceptance and love and belonging. There
are some heavy themes underlying the adventures, but again, they lend an air of
authenticity to the story, and while some readers might identify with Arthur’s experiences
and feelings, hopefully all readers will empathize or sympathize.
Journey of the Pale Bear begins
with a revealing prologue, set ten years after the rest of the story, so readers
know (ah, but they don’t, really) how the journey ends. This is middle grade
genius. The information given helps young (and old) readers feel less anxious about
the bear’s and the boy’s fates as the story progresses. There are plenty of
unexpected and pulse-pounding events that happen so while the prologue is a
soothing spoiler of sorts, it also closes the circle that would otherwise be
left open with the ending. It is perfect.
One a side note, as I read the book, I could perfectly envision students anxiously awaiting a read-aloud installment from a teacher or librarian. The book has so much potential as a springboard for all kinds of lessons. And I would LOVE for this book to be produced in audio format. It would be a whole different kind of glorious.
Thank you to Lone Star Book
Blog Tours and the author for my gorgeous (THAT COVER!!) signed copy in
exchange for my honest opinion – the only kind I give.
Although Susan loves to write about long-ago and faraway places, she can’t bring those worlds to life without grounding them in the details of this one. To that end, she has explored lava tubes and sea caves; spent the night in a lighthouse; traveled along the Silk Road in Iran; ridden in a glider, on a camel, and on a donkey; and cut up (already dead!) baby chicks and mice for a gyrfalcon’s dinner. To research Journey of the Pale Bear, she explored the grounds of the Tower of London and went backstage at the Oregon Zoo, where, standing breathtakingly near, she watched polar bears Tasul and Conrad lip grapes from their keepers’ open palms.Journey of the Pale Bear is Susan’s 12th book, including the Dragon Chronicles series, Shadow Spinner, and Alphabet of Dreams. Collectively, her books have been translated into nine languages; accolades include a Golden Kite Honor Book, the American Library Association’s Notable Books and Best Books for Young Adults, BCCB Blue Ribbon Books, and School Library Journal’s Best Books.
Susan has an M.A. in English from the University of Michigan and taught for many years in the M.F.A. in Writing for Children and Young Adults program at Vermont College. She lives in Bryan, Texas with her husband, historian R.J.Q. Adams, and their dog, Neville.
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GIVEAWAY! GIVEAWAY! GIVEAWAY!
THREE AUTOGRAPHED COPIES OF JOURNEY OF THE PALE BEAR
OCTOBER 10-20, 2019
(U.S. Only)
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