The Albie books by Caryl Hart and Ed Eaves are always packed full of fun and bold, beautiful illustrations. This new Albie adventure, How To Ride A Polar Bear (the 8th in the series) is no exception.
This time Albie is off to the “fusty and dusty” museum and is not thrilled about it. But from the moment he feels real snowflakes landing on his nose, he realises things are turning very strange! Then a huge polar bear leaps out of the snow, with a girl (Yura) on his back, and Albie is whisked away on an Arctic adventure.
Yura and her polar bear, Tuka, have to reach home – helped by Albie, of course. Along the way they build igloos, battle blizzards, dodge avalanches and escape from hungry wolves. There’s even a cameo from Santa! Illustrator Ed Eaves perfectly captures the wintery landscape: the page featuring the slinking wolves, complete with huge shadows and northern lights in the background, is my personal favourite.
Yura’s home is across the frozen sea, but they arrive to find that the ice is melted: Yura’s comment that “The ice melts earlier every year!” could prompt some chat on environmental issues. All is not lost, however, as another special Arctic animal might just save the day!
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