Space Bear

by Ethan Young

Pilgrim Finch is an astronaut bear whose mission leads him to a planet where he seeks to collect samples of the indigineous creatures - but when he’s challenged by surprising threats, he’ll learn that the most important mission of all is to show compassion for all living creatures.

TO BOLDLY GO WHERE NO SPACE BEAR HAS GONE BEFORE!

Pilgrim Finch is an adventurous astronaut bear who explores the cosmos with a mission to bring samples of life back to his home planet. But when he crash lands on a new planet full of surprises and danger around every corner, Pilgrim will be forced to question his orders and learn that there’s only one mission that matters - compassion to all living creatures no matter the stakes!

Award-winning cartoonist Ethan Young presents a timely, silent story about discovering the unknown and empathy for everyone we encounter, because every friendship begins with an act of kindness perfect for readers of all ages.

Genres: Graphic Novels, Space, Middle Grade, Science Fiction, Animals, Childrens, Comics

112 pages, Hardcover

First published June 23, 2020

About the author

Ethan Young was born and raised in NYC. Young's books include: NANJING: The Burning City (winner of the 2016 Reuben Award for Best Graphic Novel, The Dragon Path, Space Bear, and Life Between Panels, and a graphic novel adaptation of The 39 Clues for Scholastic.

Young is also a Character Designer on Friendly Neighborhood Spiderman on Disney+

Reviews

[Jon Nakapalau · Rating 5 out of 5]

Move over Rocket Raccoon - Space Bear is here to save the day! Cross Winnie-the-Pooh with Buzz Lightyear and you will get a feel for this book. Nice story about friendship and how to beat the odds - wonderful art. Will look for the further adventures of this vibrant and exciting character.

[Melki · Rating 4 out of 5]

When a bear crash lands on a strange planet, he encounters both friend and foe as he attempts to complete his mission. This is a fine, action-packed graphic adventure for the younger set - it's nearly wordless, so they don't even have to be able to read. There's a very sweet ending that made even jaded old me go "Awww!"

[Gordon · Rating 5 out of 5]

A charming all-ages tale from the co-creator of the wonderful, "A Piggy's Tale." Young's artwork is spectacular and the story is just what we need right now, a reminder of what's really important.
❤️ = ♾️

[Sean Seabright · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great story good for readers of all ages. Story is told with very few words but clear pictures that tell a deep story.

Deep, beautiful images allow you to see new details on each reading.

Bought for my 3 year old daughter, but enjoy the book myself! She also wants to read it every night!

[Barbara · Rating 5 out of 5]

An adventurous bear lands on a mysterious planet and learns that love is the most powerful resource in any galaxy. This story is appropriate for younger readers, with gentle lessons in the importance of kindness.

[Jim · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved the storytelling in this book! It’s mostly silent/wordless, perfect for young readers and young almost-readers alike. I read it to my three-year-old son and he enjoyed it so much that he immediately took it over to his mom and wanted to walk her through the story. Can already tell he’s gonna wear this book out, reading and rereading till the cover comes off! Great stuff! Highly recommended!

[Fresca · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very simple with a heart warming sy-fi story about how love will always go far and wide in the universe ✨ 💖

[createitlibrarian (Amanda) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cute charming little story

[Calvin Daniels · Rating 3 out of 5]

For a book basically sans words this was a . . . well cute . . . story :)

[Magda Beret · Rating 3 out of 5]

Sympatyczna historia, pięknie wydana, ale czegoś tu zabrakło.

[Amanda · Rating 2 out of 5]

2 1/2 stars

Mostly wordless (I justify)

If I hadn't read the back of the book and been introduced to Pilgrim Finch, a bold & daring astronaut bear who travels the cosmos in search of new samples of life (um, what life: plants, animals, ... PEOPLE!?...it doesn't say WHAT specifically!), then I would have had NO CLUE WHATSOEVER to WHAT WAS GOING ON HERE!

IF I hadn't read the back....

Here is what I would have GUESSED about the inside and the plot of the book; caution! possible spoilers ahead. Ohhhh, I like this art. The illustrations are really good. Hmm, this is for an older child who will understand the symbolism of all the pictographs in the word bubbles because so far it is mostly wordless except for when the computer talked to him. That was kind of weird. Why did the computer get to use words but everything else is pictographs?

Oh! Spooky alien alert. Obvious bad guy because of the angry red, or was that TOO obvious therefore making them a GOOD guy in disguise? Hmm. Crazy little aliens who are comic relief. Big stone with hidden clues. Oh, no, Space Bear is turning evil because of lost envelope. Dude, chill! Now...lots of running/fighting/flying bad guy/good guy stuff that was SUPER CONFUSING but pretty to look at and just lost. Love=eternity? What? That's sweet. Whatever. Little children will understand? Okaaaaayyy. Space bear sacrificial and now everything is okay.

There was much going on here that was not necessarily clear to me at first reading. The art was terrific. I am all for empathy and love being eternal, and I would appreciate a story with better development or clearer telling.

[Katie Lawrence · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was almost entirely wordless. Sometimes I find that wordless books work for me. In this case I found it very challenging to understand what was going on. Were the shadow creatures real, or just projections of negative feelings? Space Bear didn't feel fleshed out enough for me. I did enjoy the way the characters spoke in images and the artwork was cool. Just hard for me to feel very connected or grasp completely what was happening.

[Jessica · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cute graphic novel about a bear who crash lands on a planet. Some creatures take an envelope he wants back. You have to read the bears expressions a lot. There are some evil monsters that he ends up defending the first creatures. He makes friends with other creatures on the planet.

[Paul Graham Terpstra · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good book about helping others even though the costs are high. Empathy for others and how they feel.

[Gail · Rating 3 out of 5]

Silent story.

[Kathleen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Maybe a little hard to follow, as you're reading pictograms and body language rather than words to get the story. I can tell what's going on, but not always why.

[Adam Sequoyah · Rating 3 out of 5]

MPA ratings: PG for fantasy violence

[Ro · Rating 4 out of 5]

Don't read this at night. It gets kinda creepy if you do it.