Green Books Campaign: The Polar Bears' Home

This review is part of the Green Books campaign. Today 100 bloggers are reviewing 100 great books printed in an environmentally friendly way. Our goal is to encourage publishers to get greener and readers to take the environment into consideration when purchasing books. This campaign is organized by Eco-Libris, a a green company working to green up the book industry by promoting the adoption of green practices, balancing out books by planting trees, and supporting green books. A full list of participating blogs and links to their reviews is available on the Eco-Libris website.

Title: The Polar Bears' Home

Author: Lara Bergen
Illustrator: Vincent Nguyen
ISBN: 978-1-4169-6787-3
Publishing Info: Little Simon, 2008
Printed on 100% recycled paper
Number of Pages: 24
Book Category: Children's Books

Book Overview

This book tells the story of a young girl who lives in the Arctic with her family, where she enjoys a variety of outdoor sports like dog sledding.

One day, she and her father find two baby polar bear cubs without their mother. Her father explains that this isn't a normal occurrence—that polar bear moms stay with their babies until they are old enough to fend for themselves.

Although the young girl wants to take the cubs home with her to care for them, her father explains that polar bears grow to be very very big and would not make a good pet.

The girl's father theorizes that global warming may be playing a role. Global warming occurs when gases caused by the energy that humans use to heat their homes, drive cars, and run factories traps extra heat in the earth's atmosphere—making the earth grow warmer and warmer. One of the effects is the changing habitat for animals like the polar bear, who have a shorter hunting season, less ice to hunt on, and more water to swim in.

Fortunately for this group of polar bears, the mother returns to the cubs. But the father tells the daughter that everyone must take care of the planet to ensure that future polar bears are able to live happy and healthy lives.

The books ends with some simple tips on how all of us—even kids—can help slow down global warming.


My Thoughts

I think it is very important to teach children from a young age the importance of taking care of our planet. Already at age 5, my son knows all about recycling and helps me take out the glasses, bottles, cans and paper on our town's biweekly recycling day. We also use reusable shopping bags when we do our shopping—and he is very quick to tell all the cashiers that "We have our own bags. We don't need a plastic one."

We've also talked about saving water and electricity, and he has taken these things to heart—often refusing to flush the toilet after he pees in order to save water! (I'll admit, he might have gotten a little carried away with that part.) He is horrified when he sees litter on the ground and is very careful to throw any trash away in the proper place. He's also seen me cart home plastic bottles to recycle from places that didn't provide recycling bins. In addition, he sees the "funny" light bulbs we use around the house, and I explained to him how we should walk instead of drive whenever possible. In short, I'm trying to do what I can to raise my son to be environmentally aware and responsible.

When I was offered the chance to receive and review a book to support the Eco-Libris Green Campaign, I was thrilled—especially because some of the books offered for review were children's books focused on environmental issues. Because my son and I hadn't yet talked about global warming, I was excited when we got this book to read and discuss. I think explaining the issues related to global warming as it relates to the habitats of "lovable" animals like polar bears is a good one. Regardless of how you feel about global warming as a political issue, it is a scientific fact that the energy we use causes gases to build up in the atmosphere and trap in heat—which leads to a steady rise in the earth's temperatures.

The books does a good job of explaining global warming in simple to understand terms, and it manages to convey a sense of urgency about keeping our energy use in check by putting the polar bear cubs in a threatening situation. However, I was relieved the author had the mother polar bear return to the cubs in the book, as I was worried it might turn out to be a bit traumatic for my son if she didn't!

The suggestions provided are all ones that kids should be able to implement in their lives and are very common-sense: recycle cans, bottles, plastics and cardboard; plant a tree to help clean the air and shade the earth; and turn off things like the TV, computer and lights when you are not using them. I think all of these are doable for most children and families and could provide a great learning opportunity about these issues.

Another avenue of discussion is the book itself, which is printed on 100% recycled paper. This is a great learning opportunity for kids to directly see that the paper they recycle can be turned into neat things like this book! There is a entire series of these Little Green books available, and a web site for more eco-friendly tips, games and activities at www.simonlittlegreen.com.

So what did my son think of the book? Well, first off he was thrilled to be asked to help me review this book. He enjoyed the story but got quite concerned about the polar bear cubs (as I mentioned, I breathed a sigh of relief when the mother came back). He was excited that he did so many of the suggestions given at the end of the book—"I do that already, Mommy!" He also enjoyed learning about polar bears and how big they can get: "Bigger than Daddy even?" "Yes, sweetie. Bigger than Daddy." All in all, he thought it was a wonderful book and I loved the message he got from it. A win-win!

My Final Recommendation

An informative book that explains global warming and practical ways to slow it down written for young readers ages 4 to 6. Kids will enjoy the friendly looking pictures; learn various facts about polar bears, the Arctic and global warming; and receive practical ideas on how they can make a difference. A wonderful way to help build environmental awareness in children.

Why and Where I Got The Book

I received this book from the Eco-Libris, an organization that focuses on planting trees to balance out the paper used to print books. Why do they do this? Consider this fact:

More than 30 million trees are cut down annually for virgin paper used for the production of books sold in the U.S. alone.

Do you feel a little bit guilty about this? I know I do. Well, now you can help to "balance" this equation by making a pledge to Eco-Libris. Here is how it works: You decide how many books you want to "balance out" and make a small donation to Eco-Libris. In turn, they work with their planting partners to plant trees in developing countries. (For example, 5 trees = $5, 10 trees = $10, 25 trees = $23.50.) In return, you receive stickers (made from recycled paper, of course) for each book you chose to "balance out." You then place these stickers on your books to help spread the word about the Eco-Libris mission. Pledges can be made online via Visa, MasterCard or PayPal. (I love using the money I earn on eBay for stuff like this as I figure it is another way of recycling. I sell stuff on eBay. I get some money in my PayPal account. I use PayPal to support Eco-Libris.) You can go here to offset some of the books you have!

In addition to its core mission of planting trees to offset the paper used in books, Eco-Libris also works to promote the use of recycled paper in publishing and working with and promoting publishers and bookstores that help support the Eco-Libris mission.

Please take a moment today to check out the Eco-Libris web site. It is full of information on what they do and how you can play a role in making reading and publishing a "greener" place. You can also visit the Eco-Libris blog, which is chock-full of news, information and articles about green publishing, reading and more.

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