The immensely talented British children's author and artist Jackie Morris spins the tale of a shape-shifting polar bear in this gorgeous picture-book, which reads like a traditional folktale. When one of her cubs is stolen by a raven, a mother polar bear is deeply grieved. The raven gives the cub, transformed into a human infant, to a childless couple, who raise him with love until he is seven. Then the raven lures the boy away with a trail of amber, reuniting him with his polar bear kin, who recognize his scent. His human father, who has pursued him across the ice, comes upon the bears with the boy and thinks to rescue his son. When the truth is revealed, a decision looms: who will the cub/boy choose to live with - his birth family or his adoptive one. His solution, that he will half the year as a bear and half as a human, is a workable compromise...

Reminiscent of another of Morris' books, The Snow Leopard, which is also set in a wintry world, and which was partly inspired by the folklore of the Wakhi people of Central Asia, The Ice Bear also feels like a story taken from some traditional body of lore. Although Morris gives no indication that this was inspired by any Arctic people's tradition, there are in fact Inuit stories about human children raised by bears. Inuit-owned Inhabit Media, based in Nunavut, published one such story, in the picture-book The Orphan and the Polar Bear. Leaving that question of influence aside, this was simply a beautiful book, one which paired a poetic, emotionally resonant text with gorgeous artwork. The solution that the boy proposes at the conclusion of the tale put me strongly in mind of the Greek myth of Persephone. Recommended to fellow Jackie Morris fans, and to anyone looking for stories set in the Arctic, featuring polar bears and/or shape-shifters. ( )

Just gorgeous. ( )

A short but poignant story that reads more like an old folk tale (and for all I know, it could be based on one), The Ice Bear is gorgeously illustrated and beautifully told. A mother bear gives birth to twins, but a raven steals one away and gives it to a human family who are without children. When the child and his bear brother meet again, it is the choice of the child that will determine the course of all their lives. I really enjoyed this story and accompanying illustrations, and think this would be ideal for both children and adults alike. ( )

too long for story time, mythical tale ( )