NO PLACE LIKE HOME

A polar bear is permanently out of sorts.

George is forlorn; nothing gladdens his heart. He dislikes his house, and he can do without his current habitat—the city: unsuitable, too crowded. What’s a bear to do when he wants to return home? George doesn’t remember where that is, but he sets off anyway. He tries one place after another—the jungle, a mountain, the desert, and the sea. Each in turn has drawbacks, though George concedes the sea’s OK given that he “like[s] being in the water.” Still, George doesn’t belong there either. After days of travel, he eventually reaches “a strange white land” that’s “cold and covered with ice.” George is home! This sweet story is predictable, but its reassuring ending will gratify nevertheless. Many youngsters will recognize from illustrations of ice floes, snow, frozen landscapes, and climatically appropriate wildlife (including another polar bear) that George’s hunt has ended happily. The charming artwork is limited in palette to mostly blues and whites, with George’s fur delineated by vertical white strokes. The various habitats he visits are depicted minimally, with just enough simple details in each to suggest the new locales; plenty of blank spaces per page/spread will help children focus on George and his activities. Kids likely won’t notice, but adults will wistfully acknowledge the too-small floes appearing in one spread.

A lap will be a snuggly read-aloud home for this one.