Positive & Inclusive Messages + Educational Elements + Vibrant Illustrations!!!!
Reviewed in Canada on July 24, 2023
This book, “One Polar Bear” is a sweet, fun, enjoyable children’s read filled with positive and inclusive messages, educational elements, and bright, vibrant illustrations!!

“One Polar Bear,” is full of clever rhyming sequences that are sure to delight young readers while also supporting their cognitive development. In addition, this book includes numerical values, teaching readers to count from one to ten, further enhancing and boosting their literary skills. This book is sure to help young readers not only learn to read, but also support phonemic awareness, improve memory, concentration, and thinking skills, as well as provide number recognition, comprehension of number order, and lay down the foundation for early mathematics skills.

This book, “One Polar Bear,” follows an unnamed polar bear that is home sick. Over the course of the book, a wide range of lovable animals from the Canadian Arctic stop by to check in on their polar bear friend. With each page flip the story counts from one to ten, displaying the actual number with the corresponding count of friends on that page. For example, the number 4 on the page also features four seals, four stars, four trees, four music notes, and four swirls; the number 6 on the page also features six walruses and six stars. I think young readers will enjoy finding and counting the corresponding number of items on each page.

In addition, the author displayed the word, “welcome,” in eleven different languages throughout the book to promote diversity. For example, one page features the word, “Tansi,” and another uses, “Tunngasugit.” I love the idea of this; however, I wish it said what language the word was from or how to pronounce it as I can easily see young readers stumbling over these unfamiliar words. Honestly, I only recognized a few of them; “Welcome,” of course since that’s English, and “Hola!” which is Spanish. I also identified “Bonjour,” which I should know after six years of French classes, and “Namasté,” which I recognize from many years of practicing yoga. However, the other seven I don’t know.

This book is full of fun, bright, beautiful illustrations that are sure to keep readers engaged.

I loved that this book featured animals with bandages, casts, wheelchairs, canes, prosthetics, and such, which echoes the author’s dedication page to her daughters and to all children with disabilities and complex medical conditions. I think all young readers, especially those with disabilities will easily connect with this story and its characters. I honestly can’t recall seeing these types of books when I was younger, and having been a child with physical disabilities, I appreciate the author making this book truly inclusive.

This book is perfect for bedtime story time and as a learning to read to book.

This book is quick read at 33 eBook pages cover-to-cover and filled with 24 pages of text and illustrations.

This book is appropriately “G” rated as there is no swearing, no gory violence, no adult situations, and no sexual content.

This book is currently not part of a book series and therefore can be read as a standalone book.

All in all, I really enjoyed reading this book and would absolutely recommend it!! I think all young readers and their families will like this book too!! So, add it to your TBR List and get to reading – you won’t be disappointed!!

****Disclaimer: I received a complimentary copy of this book and have voluntarily provided an honest, and unbiased review in accordance with FTC regulations****