A Polar Bear in the Snow (2025)

We love both the author and illustrator, so we were excited to pick this one up. The story follows a polar bear on a journey through the snow, but where is he going?

It’s such a simple story for early elementary, but paired with the white-on-white illustrations made with paper, it becomes so much more. A stunning scenery with gorgeous colors and the peaceful tone of the story just makes this book a wonderful read.

5*****

Where does a polar bear go? Wherever he wants to go, buddy. Now get the hell out of the way.

Fun to read aloud. Great illustrations.

I love how Barnett combines two jokes I've know since kindergarten - a white sheet of paper is a polar bear in the snow AND Why did the chicken cross the road? - and comes up with a delightful story about a bear's mysterious journey through the snow. This one would just not be the same without the glorious images by artist Shawn Harris.

Mac’s Book Club Show 10/3/20

An adorable book about a polar bear in the snow!

I read this one in Dutch but wasn’t in the mood to add the book in Dutch to Goodreads + I am writing a review in English anyway so… shrugs The translation did feel good, not so choppy and weird as the last English > Dutch book I read (the Goon Hunt book).

In this book we meet a polar bear. Well, first he has got to wake up! After that we follow him on a trip through the icy cold. What is this bear going to do? Say hi to humans? OH NO! Or go to the seals? Maybe? What happens for real though had me smiling and I was so delighted to see him have all the fun. Not sure if I would go out of bed for that, especially given how cold it is, but hey, whatever floats this bear’s boat. XD

The ending was a bit unexpected. On the one hand I liked it because just like how it started with empty it end with empty (aka bear has camouflaged in the snow), but on the other hand I would just have liked a bit more. Maybe a last boop with a nose!

I just absolutely loved the illustrations! Well, should I call them that or just call them magics with paper? Because that is what it was! Ripped paper parts made for water or snow. The bear moving around seemed like they just had cut out several bears in many poses. And there is more! It was just so wonderful.

All in all, a fun book. Not much story, but still fun. It helps that I love polar bears and that the illustrations were well done!

Review first posted at https://twirlingbookprincess.com/

An absolutely stunning book. Every word is chosen carefully in this sometimes funny, sometimes poignant picture book. Equally as impressive are the illustrations with beautifully constructed scenes. The layout is thoughtfully designed and works elegantly with the text and illustrations.

This book has outstanding illustrations. The pictures tell the story. Kids will love this one. It is truly a beautiful book. I think art teachers will love using it during the winter months or anytime. Highly recommended for Grades K-5, though the reading level is K-1.

I'm a sucker for anything Mac Barnett! "See the bear...sitting in the snow... "🤣

I CANNOT GET ENOUGH OF THE ART! The cut paper, the brilliant use of white and then the cool freshness of the blue - we can feel the bear diving in and playing.
The story is simple and well done. It's not at all the trite "where will polar bear go?" as he passes by seals and arctic foxes. It's more thoughtful. The simple noticing of the text works so perfectly with the uncluttered art.
LOVE!

Love the pages with polar bear buns! Heehee

Such a cute, beautifully illustrated story. Where is the polar bear going? Let's find out together as we read along. I love Mac Barnett's books, this is definitely a more relaxed one. Fewer hijinks, more of a lull-you-to-sleep book.

Charming book with clever illustrations of a polar bear who sometimes disappears into the whiteness.

A minimalist picture book with minimal characters and minimal plot.

good

Mac Barnett has a special touch with children’s books. The artwork in this one by Shawn Harris is wonderful and makes the story even more endearing. The first page made me laugh. Remember kids handing you a “blank “ piece of paper and telling you “it’s a __________ in a snowstorm? That’s basically the what the first page looks like, except it does have texture. Right then I knew I was going to like this book.

Truly exceptional art.

The cut and torn paper illustrations with ink highlights absolutely blew me away.
I will be buying this one to add to my toy box library.

Eenvoudig verhaal, met een ijsbeer die een ijsbeer is, zonder menselijke trekjes of gevoelens. Geen expliciete boodschap of moraal. Prachtige illustraties.

Richie’s Picks: A POLAR BEAR IN THE SNOW by Mac Barnett and Shawn Harris, ill., Candlewick, October 2020, 40p., ISBN: 978-1-5362-0396-7

“Polar bears will be wiped out by the end of the century unless more is done to tackle climate change.”
-- bbc.com (7/20/20)

“Joy to the fishes in the deep blue sea
Joy to you and me”
-- Three Dog Night (1971)

“There is a polar bear in the snow.
Where is he going?”

A POLAR BEAR IN THE SNOW is a blizzard of joy! The beginning is a real grabber. We are told that there is a polar bear in the snow, but we cannot see him. All we see is white. Then, with a page turn, we see his black nose and muzzle. Another turn and he really begins to come into focus.

Spare text accompanied by cut-paper-and-ink collages depict this polar bear cruising across the tundra, summiting mountains, and arriving at the water’s edge. After studying his reflection in the water, he dives in and cavorts.

“And when he is done playing,
and he climbs back onto the snow,
where will he go then?”

For three-year-olds, this will be a book of wonder. For the fours and fives, the opportunities to guess where the bear is going next will give them a chance to seriously hypothesize (or an occasion to come up with the goofiest answers possible). The cavorting will readily serve as inspiration for gross motor music and movement activities.

I can imagine kids then sitting down and having a lot of fun creating their own snowy collages.

The interdependence of life on Earth necessitates our caring about the fate of the 30,000 polar bears left on the planet. A POLAR BEAR IN THE SNOW is a joyful tale that could well endear these intelligent and threatened creatures to the youngest generation.

Richie Partington, MLIS
Richie's Picks http://richiespicks.pbworks.com
https://www.facebook.com/richiespicks/
https://twitter.com/richiespicks
richiepartington@gmail.com

What a delightful book! When a Polar Bear awakes and rises from the snow, he's off on an adventure this breezy, Arctic day. Where is he off to today? The illustrations are done entirely with cut, layered paper for the shapes of animals and environment, adding a little ink for faces and paws. Adorable and cleverly made, this might even inspire you to do some paper craft of your own!

Such a clever picture book! A perfect combination of words and illustration pulls the reader in and makes them pause at each spread. Kids will love this book. Adults will appreciate its simplicity and beauty and picture book perfection.

I always tell people that I love a good bear story and this simply told and beautifully illustrated story is one of the best. It begins with a simple declarative sentence "There is a polar bear in the snow" facing a blank not quite white textured page. Turn the page, and a smudgey black nose appears in the snow sniffing the air.

Awake from his nap now, a magnificently sized polar bear sets off with determination across the snowy landscape, as the unknown narrator asks: Where is he going? First, the polar bear passes by a group of playful seals, but he isn't hungry and he moves on. Next, he passes by a cave, so he's not going to safely hunker down in there away from the snowstorm. His fur will keep him warm. And he's definitely not going to see the man standing alone on the snowy landscape. No, that man quickly and wisely runs away from the roaring polar bear and his rather large teeth.

Once again, the narrator asks where is the polar bear going? Suddenly, the panoramic white/light gray/ice blue snowy vista, against which the polar bear looked small, gives way to the shocking icy greenish blue of the arctic sea, as he slowly slips into the water:

What follows are six pages of the polar bear playing in the sea with schools of fish swimming around him. And as he happily twists and turns and stretches his body, it becomes an underwater ballet. And when bear is done, he climbs out of the water, and following his wet, snowy footprints, once again the question where is he going and the answer: who know?

Spare text and the repetition of the statement and question There is a polar bear in the snow. Where is he going? will keep the suspense going and the simple answers help move the story along to the sea. But the straightforward text will also focus reader's attention on the wonderful illustrations. Each page in done on textured paper to look like untouched snow, and the polar bear, all the other animals(including human) and landscape are cut from the the same textured paper, with details inked in, and collaged to give each page a dimensional feeling.

A Polar Bear in the Snow is definitely going on my list of favorite bear books, and I suspect it will be on the list of many young bear-loving readers. This is a charming book with touches of humor that will be read again and again.

This book is recommended for readers age 4+
This book was gratefully received by me from the publisher, Candlewick Press

Follow a polar bear in the snow to see where he’s going.

Readers are invited into this beautifully poetic story as the bear wonders his way towards a destination that soon becomes apparent. Against a backdrop of white and greys, the majestic animal awakens from a nap in a snowy landscape, seeking neither food nor shelter shelter—and definitely not a human. The refrain “There is a polar bear in the snow” and the question “Where is he going?” are repeated over the course of the bear’s journey, capturing readers’ attention and building suspense.

Beautiful, surprising art made from torn paper and the play of shadows. The first few pages are clever, and then there's this page that is suddenly colorful in a way that makes me want to lick it.
At least one great gag in there, too.
At first I hated the ending, but then I heard the author talk about it and thought about it in the context of other Mac Barnett stories. Now I'm more like curious. It subverts expectations. Which is something.

For Mac Barnett, this book is pretty serious. I was shocked by the lack of funny business, but it didn't seem to make a difference in storytime. Unprompted, the kids loved saying "NO!" when the book suggested places the polar bear might be going, and both crews thought it was hilarious that the book ended with a polar bear butt (which I'd hardly noticed). Definitely one I'd use again.

There are tons of polar bear books available. I have probably read hundreds of them through the years. This one is special. The text and illustrations compliment each other perfectly. The artwork is so clever and quite beautiful. An absolutely perfect story and good night time book. One of my favorite picture books of 2020. Deserving of one or more children's lit awards for 2021.

Ooh, the stark white on white cut paper illustrations in this book are simply stunning. With simple text, the story follows a polar bear as he walks past the seals and caves to the beautiful blue sea to take a swim. This one's definitely a winner for units on polar animals.

Simple and delightful, with a wonderful color surprise. Great read-aloud potential. It would be fun to connect this to an art project of monochrome collage (you could just use plain copy paper!).

Art by Shawn Harris using cut paper and ink.

Мені дуже подобаються книжки, написані Маком Бернетом: вони забавні, цікаві, непередбачувані, глибокі й при цьому прості. Він не намагається вкласти в них забагато і виходить якраз достатньо для дитини (і для мене як для любительки дитячої літератури). Хочу прочитати більше його робіт.

My 3-5 peeps are going to loveeee this