ARCTIC SPRING

Several animals (arctic hare, arctic fox, ringed seals, narwhal, some unidentified birds) begin their spring cycles of activity. The focus is on a polar bear, first seen emerging from a den dug into a snowbank on the drifting pack ice; two cubs push their way out into the intensifying sunshine at the very end. The first pictures are awash in cold blues; pale yellows and greens creep in, to become stronger and brighter with each page turn. Close-up paintings of the animals' faces are especially appealing. An appendix adds a few facts about the animals and a map of the Arctic. One quibble: the text refers to the polar bear, hare, and fox as being ``awake'' because the winter darkness has ended, implying that they have been hibernating; but, while the polar bear undergoes a period of relative dormancy, none of these animals actually hibernates. Interesting to pair with Dunphy's Here Is the Arctic Winter (p. 454), which shows most of the same animals against a darker, harsher backdrop and with a much stronger sense of their predator/prey relationships. (Picture book. 4-8)