SNOWY BEAR

Where, oh where, can this little polar bear lay his head?

Snowy Bear braves a blizzard, a fox’s den, and a precarious climb into an owl’s nest searching for a warm place to cuddle and sleep. Neither the fox nor the owl has room for the lonely, shivering bear, and so Snowy Bear trudges on until he finds a cozy farmhouse. The little white cub sneaks inside only to discover a little girl as lonely as he. They share a hug, a story, and finally a nap—each glad to have finally found a friend. Mitton’s rhyming story skates on the edge of maudlin. “There by the window a child stands alone. / No one is with her. She’s all on her own. / She looks through the window and out at the snow. / She’s a little bit lonely, Bear seems to know.” However, Brown’s (Eddie and Dog, 2013) endearingly cute bear tips the balance, driving this winter’s tale about loneliness and the power of friendship. Her acrylic-and-pencil illustrations depict a little bear that looks like a hairy pillow with stubby arms and legs and a big black nose in a snowy world that’s much too big for him. On the final page, he’s got his little thumb in his mouth. 

An unapologetically sweet book that will engage both little and big hearts alike.