The Snow Bear

by Miriam Moss, Maggie Kneen (Illustrations)

A polar bear cub has lost his mother in the snow-covered forest. Unable to find her after a long search, he decides to build a big white bear out of snow to keep him company while he waits. His forest friends arrive one by one to help him, but when darkness falls, their own mothers call them home. The little white bear is left alone again. The cub cuddles close to the snow bear and falls fast asleep. But listen! As dawn breaks, who comes sniffing and searching through the trees?

Nature lovers of all ages will delight in the captivating illustrations and the reassuring story of friendship, teamwork, and a mother's love. On every page, lavish embossing and silver accents gently illuminate the frosty beauty of the forest setting.

Genres: Picture Books, Animals, Childrens, Fiction, Christmas, Friendship, Holiday

32 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2000

About the author

Miriam is an award winning author of 75 children's books, both information books and fiction. Her fiction includes picture books, novelty books and poetry, and recently short stories for the adult market. Her books have been translated into over 20 languages.

Miriam has had wide experience of working creatively both with children in schools and libraries, and with adults. She offers lively, innovative large group performances, talks, interactive storytelling sessions, readings, seminars, creative writing and poetry workshops.

She was born in England but also grew up in Africa, The Middle East and China. She taught English for eight years in the UK and Kenya before becoming a writer. She now lives in East Sussex.

Reviews

[Knedelfina · Rating 5 out of 5]

,,Dziecku smutno jest bez Mamusi" ta? Mi smutno jest jak tylko przypomnę sobie, że ya książka istnieje seri o płaczę przy niej jak głupia. Dobrze, że się dobrze skończyło bo bym dosłownie U MAR ŁA na miejscuu

+Superaśne są teksturki na obrazkach, można pogłaskać zwierzątka, drzewka i płatki śniegu
Polecam każdemu dziecku i nie-dziecku 5/5

[Tayler Pomeroy · Rating 5 out of 5]

“The Snow Bear” is a cute little story about a polar bear that loses his mom so his forest friends help him build a snow bear. In this book, the story is simple enough to be a beginner reader book. There are a lot of patterns in the text, and there are many vocabulary words that could be discussed. The illustrations are beautiful full-page paintings with many calm natural colors. It is almost like the illustrations are soft on the eyes. Also, the pages are made of two-ply cardstock, so some of the animals in the illustrations have 3-D texture from imprinting the backside. I like how the theme of this book is about friendship and motherly love. Those are good books to read to primary grade students. If I was to read this in a classroom, I would stop at the end of some of the sentences and ask questions such as “what does splintering mean?” or “have you ever felt like that? What does a shiver look like?” This way, a cute book can also teach vocabulary and lessons such as friendship.

[Karin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Children's literature picture book
Pk-1

Many a child has wandered away from its mother only to be found again. This book tells the story of a snow bear who has lost its mother. Children can be challenged by the way the other forest animals join in and help the bear form a snow mom until the little one is found. Beautiful artwork, easy to read text. The reader is challenged throughout the book to, "Listen," another good reminder for students.

[Heather · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was too repetitive. Each animal that came up said the exact line, “Let me help.”
There were several animals so it was pretty repetitive. Bear, hare, wolf, snow goose, moose, musk ox and fox. Idk why they had to say the exact same thing.

I like the textured pages, but wish they could have gotten different textures for the animals. But the furred and feathered animals felt the same.
I would have liked explanation on how he got separated from his mother in the first place and why she was gone so long.
They all help build and shape the snow bear mom, until it gets late and the sun sets. Then they’re called back with their mothers. Snow bear settles down with the snow mom, which melts during the night. And he wakes up to the smell of his mother, who’s found him.
Not as good as I thought it would be.
1.5 stars

[Kali Hilliard · Rating 3 out of 5]

2-3; contemporary realistic; The book over all was cute. My heart was out for the baby bear with no mommy. I just feel it dragged on though. If I were to read this to a class, I believe I would struggle with keeping there attention honestly.

[Haaley · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book. The illustrations are beautiful, not to mention the cool textures on all of the pictures.
I like that there is foreshadowing in the images that show which animal will appear next.

The story is great.

[Linda Brewer · Rating 5 out of 5]

The illustrations in this book are really stunning for a children's book, and add a lot to the story. This is a good mentor text for adjectives and descriptive words. It is also a good example of friendship and teamwork. Grades K-3 will enjoy this book at any time of the year.

[Philip · Rating 4 out of 5]

The texture on the pages is neat to engage the youngest of readers but since it’s all the same it doesn’t add any uniqueness to the different animals that come to help. It’s a sweet little story. 3.5/5

[Midniteillusion · Rating 4 out of 5]

I like the tactile aspect but would have liked them to be slightly more raised or more distinction between animals/textures.

The illustration was wonderful and loved all of the different animals working together.

[Brittney Noyer · Rating 5 out of 5]

I think that the Snow Bear is a great book to read. The first reason is the characters and pictures are cute. The second reason is that we really like the ending of the book. Also, it has funny parts in the story while meeting different characters.

[Anissa · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's such a sweet story about friends helping a little bear build a mother snow bear because he's lost and missing his mother. But I was thrown off by his words when he was reunited with his mother. "it's you!" doesn't seem very warm and loving.

[RBPL Staff · Rating 4 out of 5]

Review to come.

[Amy · Rating 5 out of 5]

K's copy

[fruitcake · Rating 4 out of 5]

Amazing graphics and textures pages. Words were a little prosy for the little boy, but he loved the ending.

[Sofie Buynak-Casassa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cute story.

[Norkett · Rating 4 out of 5]

A nice story of animals gathering to help little bear. The illustrations and the textures on each page were very cool!

[Kayla Peterson · Rating 4 out of 5]

I thought this book was really cute! it shows the importance of helping others! I did think it was quite sad the bear had to spend the night alone.

[Margaret · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love the raised texture of the pages!

[KaitandMaddie · Rating 3 out of 5]

A cute book, though Maddie questioned all of the animals not eating each other.

[Heather · Rating 5 out of 5]

G really liked this. He said, "Moms always have a compass to find you."

[Kara K · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book has some texture to the pages which gives it a tactile experience. I think it will be a better read for Kara when she is a bit older.

[Steven R. McEvoy · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a wonderful little book! It is the story of a little bear who is lost in the woods. He decides to make a snow bear to comfort him until his mother can find him. Soon all kinds of different animals are coming out of the woods and foliage to help little bear. It is a great story with absolutely wonderful illustrations. It is a pleasure to read and look at.

[Saba N Taylor · Rating 5 out of 5]

In this heartwarming tale, a group of young animals help a young bear lost from his mother, a mama bear out of snow. Each animal does his or her part in creating the snow bear. When it is time for everyone to return home, little bear curls up next to the snow bear and waits for his mama to find him. When he wakes up, she has found him. I read this to my toddler class. While the text was a bit overwhelming for them, they loved the illustrations and the textured pages.

[Lea Beall · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Snow Bear brings animals from the North to life for young readers. The author personifies the animals, allowing them to co-operate with each other. A child will easily relate to the little bear who is missing his mother. My children were delighted with seeing all the snow pictures and animals with white fur and feathers, animals from a different climate than the one we live in.
An enjoyable story with a comforting, happy ending.

[Rosa Cline · Rating 3 out of 5]

A little bear has lost his Mama and can't find her. So he wanted to make a snow bear until she was found. His many wildlife friends stop in and help him build the snow bear. Nighttime was coming and he was sad. He cuddled down against the snow Mama bear thinking of his real mama. When he awoke the snow bear had melted and his real Mama had found him. The illustrations in this book were very lovely.

[Emily · Rating 3 out of 5]

The animals are cute and the story appropriately forlorn and poignant until the little bear is found by his mother. But the textured illustrations are the real draw to this book. My two-year-old loves to run his hands across the pages.

For more book reviews, come visit my blog, Build Enough Bookshelves.

[Robert · Rating 2 out of 5]

A little polar bear loses touch with his mother. The other animals in the woods help him to make a replica of his mother out of snow. Each animal has the right motion to hep construct this. The little bear nestles into the snow sculpture of his mother. The snow melts overnight and the mother bear replaces it. The little bear wakes up to a familiar scent.

Eh.

[Anna · Rating 4 out of 5]

Awww, such an adorable little picture book about a baby cub and a momma bear cub. I just got it and I can already picture some students who would love it. Definitely for lower readers. Would also make for a good read aloud because there are a lot of moments that engage the audience.

[Alfajirikali · Rating 3 out of 5]

The reliefs on the illustrations were more intriguing than the story. We ended up doing several rubbings of the animals and snowflakes.

[Kelly Holmes · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cute, but not great.