JOURNEY OF
THE PALE BEAR
by
SUSAN FLETCHER
Middle Grade / Medieval Historical Fiction
(grades 3-7)
Publisher: Margaret K. McElderry Books
Publisher: Margaret K. McElderry Books
Date of Publication: October 2, 2018
Paperback: October 1, 2019
Paperback: October 1, 2019
Number of Pages: 302
Scroll down for the giveaway!
A runaway boy befriends a polar bear that’s being transported from Norway to London in this lyrical and timeless adventure story about freedom, captivity, and finding a family.
Scroll down for the giveaway!
A runaway boy befriends a polar bear that’s being transported from Norway to London in this lyrical and timeless adventure story about freedom, captivity, and finding a family.
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, he is shoved in her cage as payback for stealing food. Restless and deadly, the bear terrifies him. Yet, strangely, she doesn’t harm him—though she has attacked anyone else who comes near. That makes Arthur valuable to the doctor in charge of getting the bear safely to London. So Arthur, who has run away from home, 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 and the ship founders, 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 is also a touching account of the bond between a boy and a bear.
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ACCOLADES AND PRAISE FOR
JOURNEY OF THE PALE BEAR:
Honor Book, Golden Kite Awards, 2019
Vermont's 2019-2020
Dorothy Canfield Fisher list
2020
Oklahoma Sequoyah Book Award
Children's Master list
School Library Connection highly recommended book
Junior Library Guild Selection
50 Must-Read Historical Fiction Books for Kids, bookriot.com
“…a stupendous coming-of-age-tale stuffed with adventure and laced with deeper questions… A richly satisfying story saturated with color, adventure, and heart.” –Kirkus, starred review
“I simply adore this novel. It has it all: gorgeous prose, fascinating history, riveting adventure. But it’s the unlikely tender friendship between a lonely boy and a polar bear that makes this a story to cherish. A lovely little miracle of a book.”
–Katherine Applegate, Newbery Medal-winning author of The One and Only Ivan
“I loved every single thing about this large-hearted and riveting medieval adventure.” —William Alexander, National Book Award-winning author of Goblin Secrets
“I loved every single thing about this large-hearted and riveting medieval adventure.” —William Alexander, National Book Award-winning author of Goblin Secrets
Do you ever get that indescribable hankering deep down in
your soul for a different kind of read? You can’t put your finger on it, but it’s
that inner gnawing that just won’t shut up and go away.
I’ve been having that dadgum nagging hankering for a while
now. Now, I’ve got a TON of books in my house. Every single room is loaded with
them (it’s taking forever to complete the conversion of my spare bedroom into a
library). Even my little ole Kindle is so full of unread books that I’m
surprised it hasn’t exploded yet.
But nothing has sounded good. I was getting hangry for something
different. I was about to give up. Until Kristine had the confounded, all-out nerve and unmitigated
gall to post a sign-up in our blogger group for some book about a bear.
I shrugged, squinting at the image of the cover on the
Google form sign-up page.
“Hmmm … well, the cover is my favorite color,” I says
to myself. “Why the heck not?” I also says to myself.
So I shrugged once more and typed in my deets, not too
overly-concerned or ecstatic about getting selected to review a book about a
boy and a bear.
And then I forgot I signed up for the blog tour.
Until one bright, sunny autumn day. I was minding my own confounded business, checking
my mail, and discovered a very suspect and suspicious envelope in my mailbox.
I immediately imagined that it was a bomb.
I mean…what else could it be. Right?
Well, I let my boss - AKA Sascha Marie, resident four-legged
bomb squad and herder extraordinaire – sniff the package, just in case. She was
instantly bored and went back to snoozing on her pillow. So, I felt it was safe
to tear into the strange envelope.
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I withdrew the alien object to discover …
An absolutely GORGEOUS book!
Y’all, allow me a moment to geek-out and gush. The publisher sent me a lovely hardcover copy and a letter, to boot. No, it’s not autographed, and I’m smirking about that, even as I type this. Y’all know how I lurve it when the author signs the book.
Y’all, allow me a moment to geek-out and gush. The publisher sent me a lovely hardcover copy and a letter, to boot. No, it’s not autographed, and I’m smirking about that, even as I type this. Y’all know how I lurve it when the author signs the book.
Le Sigh.
Maybe she’ll send me a signed bookplate?
*crosses fingers*
But I digress. I know … I know … y’all came here for a
review.
I’ll get on with it. Dang, y’all are about as bossy as Sascha Marie!
This book feels great in your hands. Its tactile quality is
lovely. But what is even better is what’s inside.
Now, y’all know that I’m a huge history nerd. I wasn’t even
expecting to take a trip back in time. Yet, there I was (in my flannel pajamas) traveling back to 1272,
London. I could hear the sounds - the clink of chain mail, the clank of a sword;
feel the feels - the hand-carved boards of the wooden drawbridge beneath the
soles of my leather shoes; see the sights - the glare of a torch held before my
face, its warm glow leaving spot of light swimming in my eyes.
And into the past, I tumbled, head-over-heels, landing onto
the cobblestones of the outer bailey of an ancient fortress.
Fletcher reeled me in, line and sinker from the very first
word. What a hook!
(She was prolly laughing maniacally whilst reeling me in with that whopper of a hook in my ever-loving jaw, yo!)
Like so:
(She was prolly laughing maniacally whilst reeling me in with that whopper of a hook in my ever-loving jaw, yo!)
Like so:
No, I will not give y’all any sort of spoilers! Y’all keep
on asking like I’m finally gonna give in!
This book deserves to be devoured, for it is a delicious
banquet served in troughs placed on wooden tables in the great hall. It simply
must be enjoyed, picking every single nibble from the bone until the very last
word.
But what I will tell y’all is - though this book is written for
middle-grade, it is so intelligently written, one would think it was
penned for YA or adults. There is no pandering in Susan’s writing. She is
holding up a literary standard, and the story is so good that even young
readers will rise to the challenge.
JOURNEY OF THE PALE BEAR by Susan Fletcher is one of those rare
books one is loath to put down for fear of missing something whilst away.
Within these covers, the reader becomes the main character, and
the author is the bard-ess, sitting across the fire, the warm glow of light
reflecting in her eyes as she recounts the tale of the journey of the pale bear
and her beloved companion. I know it must be a true story! It simply must! It’s
too good to be fictitious!
Simply put:
Fletcher’s writing is so lyrical,
tangible, and delicious … It left me hungry for more!
All y'all need to read this book! Grab a copy! Heck, scroll down to enter to win!
And that’s why I
grant
Journey of the Pale
Bear by Susan Fletcher
5 Glorious, Ancient
Brooms!
Although Susan loves to write about long-ago and faraway places, she can’t bring those worlds to life without grounding them in the details of this one. To that end, she has explored lava tubes and sea caves; spent the night in a lighthouse; traveled along the Silk Road in Iran; ridden in a glider, on a camel, and on a donkey; and cut up (already dead!) baby chicks and mice for a gyrfalcon’s dinner. To research Journey of the Pale Bear, she explored the grounds of the Tower of London and went backstage at the Oregon Zoo, where, standing breathtakingly near, she watched polar bears Tasul and Conrad lip grapes from their keepers’ open palms.
Journey of the Pale Bear is Susan’s 12th book, including the Dragon Chronicles series, Shadow Spinner, and Alphabet of Dreams. Collectively, her books have been translated into nine languages; accolades include a Golden Kite Honor Book, the American Library Association’s Notable Books and Best Books for Young Adults, BCCB Blue Ribbon Books, and School Library Journal’s Best Books.
Susan has an M.A. in English from the University of Michigan and taught for many years in the M.F.A. in Writing for Children and Young Adults program at Vermont College. She lives in Bryan, Texas with her husband, historian R.J.Q. Adams, and their dog, Neville.
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GIVEAWAY! GIVEAWAY! GIVEAWAY!
THREE AUTOGRAPHED COPIES OF JOURNEY OF THE PALE BEAR
OCTOBER 10-20, 2019
(U.S. Only)
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YES!The intelligence of the writing struck me, too. Well, everything struck me. Amazing book and fabulous review and graphics. Thanks for the post!
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