Customer Reviews

Polar Bear Night (New York Times Best Illustrated Books (Awards))

5 star:		(13)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This wonderful book follows a polar bear cub on a nighttime stroll through the Arctic. Steve Savage's geometric linocut illustrations perfectly mesh with the haiku-like story by Lauren Thompson. Savage's drawings are as flawless as a diamond and as gentle as a sunrise. Spend time with the art to appreciate the subtle pallettes of each 2-page spread, and the iconic simplicity of the figures in the landscape. The result is truly a book for all ages, and is worth of multiple reads.

My little girl adores this book. She made me read it again and again and now she knows it by heart and "reads" it to herself. The illustrations are charming, simple but very evocative. They inspire my daughter (in a way more busily illustrated books don't) to draw. She draws lots of pictures of the polar bear cub off on new adventures and is now planning on writing "Polar Bear Night Two."

My daughter (3 1/2) loves this book. It has quickly become a bedtime favorite -- and it has made her very interested in stars and the night sky. The text is sweet and sonorous and the art is luminous and warm. Perfect for calming down before sleep.

if you have a little one that has a bit of a fear of the night then Polar Bear Night is the perfect book to have and read to them. This comforting little story displays how darkness can be a friend. A little polar bear cub decides to venture out in the cold, frozen night to do a a little exploring. Along the way she encouters other animals such as seals, whales, and a walrus, all sleeping and dreaming the night away.

The Illustrations by Stephen Savage perfectly compliment lauren Thompson's prose with colors that match the mood and setting perfectly, including the glow when the cub sees a meteor shower. Finally, when the little cub is done exploring, its back to her nice warm den and into her mothers arms and off to bed. Just a delightful story to show little ones that the night time can offer the appeal of soft, pleasant dreams and that even animals sleep peacefully in the darkness. Sure to be come a classic.

I picked up this book because the simple, endearing artwork caught my eye. I didn't know I was in for such a treat. This book is amazing-the text and art come together to tell a wonderful story of an adorable little polar bear out for a midnight stroll. With the same simple text and graphics that made Good Night Moon such a success, Polar Bear Night is sure to be a new bedtime classic.

My 21-month-old has loved this book since we got it when he was only 16 or 17 months old. I think he responded instantly to the bold design and colors, and now he loves the mommy-baby story. He enjoys naming the animals now, too, and gets excited when we come to the star shower. I get goosebumps almost every time we come to the part where the falling stars "light up everything the little bear loves, and the bear shines bright with light too." I don't know why, but it's weirdly powerful. This is way up there with "Where the Wild Things Are" in our pantheon of bedtime books.

We gave this as a Christmas gift to our 2-year-old. It is beautiful in narrative and illustration. The moon follows the title character, and the stars light up everything she loves.

A delightful bedtime book. Stephen Savage's illustrations bring the text to life.

Please don't hate me for this, I swear I'm really not a bad person who secretly hates fuzzy little bears and loving bear mommas. It's just that this book left me kind of cold, and it's not the effect of the snow. The story is nice, some of the phrases are downright lyrical. However, the total look of Polar Bear Night (New York Times Best Illustrated Books) is not enthralling to its intended audience looking for a sweet, pleasant, pretty book to lull them off to dreamland.

There was little to no interest paid by the child who saw this book, and this is a child who loves every book she sees, sometimes carrying them around the house all day.

I'm sorry, but.... ehhhh. This purchase, based on other great reviews, was a mistake. Live and learn.

While many children's bedtime books are trite and redundant, every now and then you find one that's unique. "Polar Bear Night" is one of those books, and it immediately became a favorite of both kids and adults in our house.

It has a sparse visual style that's also very interesting - much more like retro graphic design than typical children's illustration. Still, the animal characters are each very cute and our son loves each of them.

The story is simple yet full of wonder - perfect for calming kids down before bed while also opening up their imaginations as well.

I see that Amazon is bundling this book with "Kitten's First Full Moon" and they are both great books with comparable storylines. However, it didn't take long for this book to overtake "Kitten" as our favorite each night. Enjoy!