There's a certain fragility in the illustrations, where the soft hues and edges reflect the delicate nature of the polar bears and other animals' in the Arctic living with the dangers of the melting ice caps. The narrative is easy to follow and tells/shows how polar bears are being affected by the changes in climate. It isn't preachy because it mostly shows this but does not tell what it is the story is saying.
Useful back matter on 'See Ice and Polar Bears' and 'Other animals above and below the ice'. ( )

Glorious watery shades of blue glide the Sea Bear through the ice floes as she stalks seals toward the springtime sea in this book's illustrations. The deep blue darkens on her long return to land when the ice floes melt. Moore captures this perilous journey through breathtaking beautiful shades of blue illustrations and well chosen words. She includes a glossary of some of the polar animals that the polar bear passes on her journey. She also includes a page on "Sea Ice and Polar Bears". What a timely book!
My 85 year old-retired teacher-mother said, "Simply glorious!" ( )

"Polar bears are patient beasts, as patient as glaciers. We know how to hope and how to wait." So begins the poetic narrative of this lovely work of picture-book natural history from author/illustrator Lindsay Moore. Following its ursine narrator as she hunts for seals, and then swims long distances to find new hunting grounds, it highlights the central role of sea ice, in the lives of this majestic species. Although life is becoming more difficult for polar bears, as the sea ice shrinks, the narrator concludes with a message of hope, reiterating that her kind "know hope to hope and how to wait..."

Apparently Moore's debut in the world of picture-books, Sea Bear: A Journey of Survival pairs a beautifully-written and thought-provoking text with absolutely gorgeous artwork, created using graphite, watercolor, drawing inks, conte crayon and colored pencils. The scenes here are simply beautiful, with a breathtaking sense of enchantment. Moore captures the wintry wonder of the Arctic, and the awe-inspiring majesty of these icy-white bears of the north, both in her artwork and in her textual narrative. Her afterword gives more information about polar bears and sea ice, and about the other species of the region. Emotionally resonant - I got a lump in my throat, as the bear was forced to swim on and on, through the stormy seas - artistically appealing, and educational as well, this lovely picture-book offers a call to action, beautifully depicting one of the many reasons - the survival of this amazing species - that we humans should act to slow climate change.

This is an astonishingly assured debut for Moore! I certainly will be looking for more of her work, and recommend this one to young polar bear lovers, and to anyone looking for picture-books about them, or about the deleterious effect of climate change. ( )