February 27 is International Polar Bear Day. What better way to celebrate these majestic animals than reading a story in which they feature as main characters. Below is a list of books, some realistic, some more whimsical, to enjoy during the cold winter when you might wish you had a fur coat as warm as these remarkable bears.
Finding Bear by Hannah Gold. 352 pp.
April Wood has returned home from her adventure on Bear Island. But even though it’s been a whole year, she can’t stop thinking about Bear.
When April hears that a polar bear has been shot and injured in Svalbard, she’s convinced it’s her friend and persuades her dad to travel with her to the northernmost reaches of the Arctic. So begins an unforgettable journey across frozen tundra and icy glaciers.
But along the way, she discovers much more than she bargained for—a tiny polar bear cub, desperately in need of her help. In freezing temperatures, April must navigate the dangerous Arctic terrain and face her deepest fears if she’s to save him.
The Great White Bear by James DuBern. 198 pp.
There are three reasons Lance should up and run from what his dad calls a ‘character-building’ excursion to Fort Lagrave. First, winter in Hudson Bay is colder than his father’s goodbyes. Second, the owner of the snowbound fortress is a mustachioed madman. And third, a polar bear circles the estate with its nose in the air and blood on its muzzle. But Lance doesn’t know any of that, yet.
On the bus, he has more immediate problems. The hockey boys push him around like a puck, and the girls in the back row stare right through him. Little do they all know that to survive this ordeal, the ragtag group of teenagers must pull together as a team.
Lance stares out the window. The snow gets heavier and the sky gets darker. His father’s voice rings in his ears and the bus driver has his own, spine-chilling words of wisdom.
“You know what they say about bears? If it’s brown, lay down. If it’s black, fight back. If it’s white, good night.”
Lance closes his eyes and shivers. It’s only a five night trip. He’s got this..
How to Catch a Polar Bear by Stacy DeKeyser. 272 pp. 
It’s 1948, and twelve-year-old Nick is ready for the best summer ever. He’s going to hang out with his best pal, Ace, and maybe with Penny too—she is a girl, but she has a great throwing arm. Then things get wild when a polar bear escapes from Milwaukee’s city zoo and appears right on his block. They’re all going to have to keep their eyes open now.
But Nick’s grand plans start to crumble when Ace gets a paper route and Penny decides to share it with him. Now they’re never around. Nick himself is working at his Uncle Spiro’s frozen custard shop, but at least he gets free all-you-can-eat dessert.
When Uncle Spiro opens a custard stand at the zoo, Nick volunteers to help—if that polar bear escapes again, he’ll have a front row seat! But their competitor, Happy Harold, opens a stand of his own right outside the zoo. Now Nick is scrambling to keep their customers, especially because Happy keeps playing dirty tricks. When Penny discovers that someone may have let the polar bear out on purpose, Nick suspects that Happy might be involved. With mysteries to solve and a whole zoo-full of monkey business, it looks like Nick’s summer won’t be so boring after all!
Journey of the Pale Bear by Susan Fletcher. 304 pp. 
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, she terrifies him. Yet, strangely, she doesn’t harm him—though she has attacked anyone else who comes near. So Arthur 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, 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 thoughtfully looks at the themes of freedom, captivity, and the bond between a boy and a bear.
The Last Bear by Hannah Gold. 288 pp. 
There are no polar bears left on Bear Island. At least, that’s what April’s father tells her when his scientific research takes them to a faraway Arctic outpost.
But one night, April catches a glimpse of something distinctly bear shaped loping across the horizon. A polar bear who shouldn’t be there—who is hungry, lonely and a long way from home.
This fierce celebration of friendship includes full-page black-and-white illustrations throughout, as well as information about the real Bear Island and the plight of the polar bears.
Middle School: Winter Blunderland by James Patterson and Brian Sitts. 256 pp. 
Things heat up at Hills Village Middle School when Rafe gets an invitation from Dr. Daria Deerwin to join a research study on polar bears. How many times in life do you get a chance to come face‑to‑face with a real polar bear in the wild? Rafe is ready to find out!
Alaska is pinkie‑freezing, hair‑freezing, snot‑freezing cold, but Rafe might be headed for a meltdown. He’s spending every waking moment with Penelope, who he definitely has a crush on, and a polar bear Dr. Deerwin is tracking goes missing … with poachers on the tundra. It’s up to Rafe, Penelope, and their new friends to save the day. Will Rafe survive his coolest, most (frost)biting adventure yet?
The Polar Bear and the Dragon: Perilous Passage by Debbie Watson. 284 pp. 
The ambush was a miserable failure. The explosion should have trapped the alliance inside the portal, but all escaped except Whitney and Edward. Now the teens are lost in a perilous passage somewhere between Yagdi and Earth.
Something or someone is blocking their attempts to communicate with family and friends … and their powers have disappeared. The so-called wizard who appears out of nowhere offers to guide Whitney and Edward to safety. The teens are wise to question his motives, because the wizard’s timely arrival is no coincidence.
Following him will be risky, but they’re lost, and the odd little wizard seems to know his way around. The distraught alliance led by a polar bear named Traveler has vowed to bring Whitney and Edward home. Once again their Dream Jumper solves the problem of communication. But how can they reach their “chosen ones” when the portal has been destroyed?
The Polar Bear Explorers’ Club by Alex Bell. 336 pp. 
Stella Starflake Pearl knows, without a doubt, that she was born to be an adventurer. It’s too bad girls are forbidden from becoming explorers.
But Stella’s father has never been one to play by the rules.
Leaving behind her pet polar bear, Gruff, and beloved unicorn, Magic, Stella and Felix set off on an expedition to the snowy Icelands. There, Stella plans to prove herself as a junior explorer, worthy of membership in the Polar Bear Explorers’ Club. So when Stella and three other junior explorers are separated from the rest of their expedition, she has the perfect opportunity. Can they explore the frozen wilderness and live to tell the tale?
Polar Peril by Margaret Pollock. 154 pp. 
Twelve-year-old Nikki and her cousin, Charlie-Chum, attend the Mohawk Strawberry Festival. While there, a seer gives Nikki a magic carved polar bear, named Followme, who guides her as she learns how to talk with animals and fly. Followme tells Nikki that the Creator has an assignment for her: to fly to the Arctic to save the polar bears, whose world is melting from global warming. A life-changing journey begins!
The journey is hair-raising as Charlie-Chum, clutching Nikki, nearly falls out of the air, and the two kids land amongst hundreds of starving polar bears. But they develop allies as they head into brown bear territory, for a brave new experiment in polar bear survival. Eventually, there is a gigantic clash between the chief of the brown bears and the mightiest polar bear. This fight will determine whether the experiment succeeds or fails.
The Quest of the Cubs by Kathryn Lasky. 240 pp. 
For generations, the noble polar bears have ruled the Northern Kingdoms. But now, their society is on the brink of collapse. A group of power-hungry bears has seized control, and darkness is creeping across the snow.
Cubs First and Second don’t know any of this. Although they’re twins, they couldn’t be more different. First loves imagining stories, while his daring sister, Second, wants to live them.
When their mother is taken prisoner, the cubs’ world falls apart. They know they have to rescue her, but how can two cubs who’ve barely learned to hunt survive a treacherous journey across the ice? Their only chance is to learn to trust each other and — even more important — trust themselves. But survival is only the beginning. And soon, these two unlikely heroes find themselves at the heart of a battle unlike anything Ga’Hoole has ever seen.
The Snow Bear by Holly Webb. 192 pp. 
As the snow begins to fall, Grandad helps Sara build an igloo in the garden, and Sara sculpts a small polar bear to watch over it. And what better way to spend a snowy night than sleeping under the stars?
But when Sara awakes in the middle of the night, she finds the igloo is no longer in the garden but lost in a world of ice … and her snow bear has transformed into a real live polar bear cub. As Sara and the cub set out on an enchanted journey through the wilderness, will they ever find their way home?
The Very, Very Far North by Dan Bar-el. 272 pp. 
An inquisitive polar bear named Duane befriends an array of animals as he discovers where he belongs in this charming classic-in-the making.
In the Very, Very Far North, past the Cold, Cold Ocean and just below the hill that looks like a baby whale, you’ll find Duane and his friends.
Duane is a sweet and curious young bear who makes friends with everyone he meets—whether they’re bossy, like Major Puff the puffin, or a bit vain, like Handsome the musk ox, or very, very shy, like Boo the caribou. For these arctic friends, every day is a new adventure!
Included on the bookshelf are nonfiction middle-grade books to explore fun facts about polar bears. Plus, check here and here to learn about the environment polar bears live in.
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