Join April Wood on a thrilling Arctic adventure set in the world of the THE LAST BEAR, FINDING BEAR and THE LONE HUSKY.
August Wood lives in the far north of the Arctic. His best friend is a husky called Blaze, and he’s the younger brother of April Wood – the girl who once famously rescued a polar bear.
But one summer’s day, when a sudden snowstorm strikes, August goes missing. With temperatures plummeting, it’s up to April, Bear and Blaze to track him down and bring him safely home … before it's too late.
A stunning, snow-filled adventure for animal lovers of all ages, Bear Rescue is perfect for readers who are new to Hannah Gold's iconic stories as well as existing fans.
'Deeply moving, quite unforgettable' Michael Morpurgo on The Last Bear
Hannah Gold worked in the film and magazine industries before taking time out to pursue her dream of writing. She lives in Lincolnshire with her tortoise, her cat and her husband. This is her middle grade debut.
A short story from the Bear series of Hannah Gold. April is friends with a polar bear whom she has saved in the past and who saved her as well.
April’s father is planning to propose to his girlfriend, so a trip to a friend’s country cabin seems to be the perfect occasion for it. However, their toddler goes missing outdoors in the snow and the family & friends need to find him soon.
This is a World Book Day 2026, a short story aimed at a middle grade audience. I’m now quite curious to read Hannah Gold’s other books. What a pity that the back blurb of this one seems written by someone who didn’t really read the book!
🤍This tiny book was another gem about solid friendship, love, family, life, and strong bonds between animals and humans.
🐻❄️The Plot: We keep following April Wood. The girl still lives on the Arctic island, not far from the North Pole. The famously rescued bear and husky, Blaze, are still her best friends. One summer day, when a snowstorm strikes, April's little brother goes missing. Together with her family and friends, April dives into one more exciting and dangerous adventure.
🐻❄️The Writing Style: I fell in love with this book from the first words. It was written at lightning speed with brief stops to process and enjoy the heartwarming moments. It was also full of smooth but tense twists and turns that made my heart race. The author depicted all the events and scenes in a vivid and pretty realistic way. This one was another atmospheric book about the Arctic and its severe, yet captivating spirit.
🐻❄️The Characters: There were no new characters in this book, but I was happy to meet all the team from the previous books and dive into another adventure with them. It felt cute to observe how their lives went on, the milestones they were reaching, and the events awaiting them. The emotional connection with all of them remained the same – strong, solid, and memorable.
✨Would I read other books by this author: Can't wait!
💕My humble rating is: 5/5
🐻❄️I hope you'll enjoy reading this touching, cute, and wise story for young minds as much as I did!
🙏🏼Anyway, thank you for dropping by and reading this post!
Loved to be back with my favorite book characters, April and Bear! I love the concept of world book day books. Thin, engaging and encouraging young people to read. Which better characters to have for that are an adventure with April and Bear! I loved it.
I'm not familiar with the series from which this book is inspired, however this was a nice little read. It would be good for anyone who likes a bit of adventure in their stories and/or likes animals. A good opener for children to full length books by this author too.
I picked up a copy of this for free in The Works with my little boys World Book Day Token. This was a great little world book day story - a proper little gem of a read. My boy loved the illustrations and the writing style is at a breakneck pace but with brief lulls to allow for the heartwarming moments. For such a short story, the twists are sharp and intense and I was fully immersed. I wish these books had been around when I was growing up - I think Hannah would have been one of my firm favourites. Even though I’ve not read any of the other books in the series, the characters somehow still felt like old friends and I fell in love with all of them. I would love to read the rest of the books with my boys eventually.
An decent short story in the world of The Last Bear. Those unfamiliar with the series get an introduction to all the characters and for existing fans a new little story. The illustrations by Levi Pinfold are gorgeous.
April is excited to celebrate her dad’s birthday with their family group, he has a special plan for the day that only April knows about, that’s why she baked him an extra special cake. But trouble starts early on in the day with one thing leading to another and it’s up to April and the help of bear to figure it out.
This was so beautiful and sweet, I love that she had a connection with a giant polar bear she saved in a previous book. I loved how their bond is truly tight and connected and they can sense each other perfectly which was adorable.
I could sense trouble instantly as soon as she mentioned being the keeper of her dad’s engagent ring I knew it would somehow go missing. It seemed so silly to me that she would risk the ring so much by putting the cake out where animals could acces it so easily. It also mentioned her brother’s toy was lost, I knew he would be off looking for it, but it certainly made it very entertaining seeing the entire adventure they all go on to find him.
I loved the illustrations throughout they really capture the location of the artic so beautifully and along with the description you get the stunning sights of the animals around, it was so gorgeous to look at. This is such a cute little book, and I’m sure readers of the series will absolutely love having this included with their collection.
World Book Day 2026 features a short story by popular child author, Hannah Gold. In Bear Rescue she continues her story of April, a young girl and her unlikely best friend Bear the polar bear. This flash fiction does well to explain their living conditions in the Arctic and her friendship with Bear without revealing to much about her series in this short segment. We learn that April lives with her baby younger brother, August and her dad who is hoping to propose to his partner. April has been left in charge of the ring, and is determined to keep it safe. But in a matter of moments, both the ring and August go missing in this dangerous setting and April requires the help of her furry friends to find them both. Bear Rescue is a sweet tale which does well to advertise her series to new readers while providing a new mini plot to reward long term readers. We see exciting husky sled rides, terrifying mountain climbing and the joy of witnessing Bear and April’s connection.
This was a short book that I was given by school for Wold book day. What happens in the book is April (the main character) when to Hedda's Cabin for her Dad's new girlfriend to get an engagement ring. April made a cake and stuck the engagement ring inside it then she left it outside, then an hour or two later she went outside but it was gone!! She thought that bear had eaten the ring!! Her little brother then went missing with his dog so they call had to go searching. She went with Bear and she found the dog, but not the little boy. he dog then sniffed out the boy and they found him under a blanket in. the snow. He was so cold but he survived. In the end she told her dad and his new girlfriend Maria what had happened. Maria had found the ring and they got married and they kissed!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!111111111
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
April's dad is ready to propose to his girlfriend, but he's very nervous about doing it. April decides she'd like to help. Dad stresses again and again about being careful and not to lose the engagement ring, which April brushes off. He should know how responsible she is.
Unfortunately for April, her best efforts to keep the ring safe never thought to include her very best animal friend, Bear.
A surprise visit is a wonderful treat for April, but she and the family are soon swept up in a terrifying mystery. While April, Bear and her favourite husky sled dog Blaze are outside in the snow, something has happened back at her friend Hedda's cabin.
It was supposed to be a special occasion, but April's baby brother August has vanished. A snow storm is descending on them and they've searched everywhere. Where can a crawling baby be?
Released as No. 3.5 in The Last Bear series, Bear Rescue is a World Book Day 2026 book. At only 96 pages instead of the usual 300 or so in the other books in the series, it's a much quicker read.
Despite the length, Bear Rescue is still long enough to capture readers with Bear's return, a missing item, and then scarily, April's missing baby brother.
As a lover of this series devoted to the Arctic, the environment and the changes within it, Bear Rescue is a wonderful addition - taking the reader further in April's family life with a new baby brother, and all her friends and family, both furry and human.
Author - Hannah Gold Illustrator - Levi Pinfold Age - 8+
We are back in the north of the Arctic again with April Wood and her family. When her little brother August goes missing it is up to April, her best friend Bear and her husky dog Blaze to find him. As temperatures drop and a snow storm worsens it’s a race against time for April and her companions to find August and get him to safety.
If Hannah Gold wrote a shopping list I would read it a hundred times. This little book at under a hundred pages packs a big adventure in to such a small package but the impact is still immense.
The quiet, the cold, the vast and breathtaking landscape and the magnificent animals merged with the as always fantastic illustrations by Levi Pinfold make this a book you won’t want to put down and will want to revisit time and time again.
I adore April and the world she belongs to. These books make me feel like a child again and awaken those memories of how excited I felt getting completely lost in a book when I was younger.
This is a world book day book for 2026 and the perfect book to encourage young kids to read
Such a beautiful child book, such phenomenal illustrations. I loved the last bear. I think obviously because it's a world book day book it was just a bit short. I also feel the back of the book blurb was a bit misleading. But I really like the Hannah Gold book and can't wait for my son to be old enough to read them.
I was so excited to see this as a World Book Day book this year and love that more children may be introduced to Bear and April. I was a little disappointed though. It lacked the depth and emotion that Hannah usually manages to achieve and the plot seemed very weak. Maybe this is because it was such a short book. It was ok - just nowhere near the quality of her other books
I honestly really liked how simple the plot is. I won’t say what it is but as all of Hannah’s books goes, she meets Bear. It is a very small book (78 pages if you exclude a snip-it from Last Bear). This is a great story about: Love Determination Belief And everything else rammed into one brilliant story
Another heartwarming read from Hannah Gold. The children have been talking about this at school as lots of them got a copy for World Book Day. I have read the first two in the series but I didn’t realise ‘the lone husky’ is a continuation!
Dad was so nervous bless him! 💍 August and Blaze are just the cutest! 🥰 And I still want to be best friends with a polar bear! 🐻❄️ ❤️
Loved being back in this world with these wonderful characters. A short story featuring April and all her family and friends, human and animal alike. A gripping adventure in the beautifully described frozen landscape. Stunning illustrations by Levi Pinfold as always.
Read this a short while ago but forgot to review. My mind is a little fuzzy in the details. I'll definitely be keeping this book around though as I'm sure as my nieces and nephews grow they'll enjoy it.
The story about a sweet little girl who lives in the Arctic with her family and a small adventure she has. My daughter and I thoroughly enjoyed listening to this.
I absolutely love this childrens author with her adventures in the Arctic. They are so well written in a child's voice without being too simple do therefore appealing to this adult!
Even for a short, World Book Day book, this was just as well written as the previous 3 'bear' books. I really hope there will be more of these adventures of April and her brother.