Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
In this striking offering from Dutch artist Kriek, a young bear longs to experience a natural phenomenon. After hearing about the Northern Lights from an old owl, bear cub Mika settles down to hibernate, but once his parents are asleep, he tiptoes out to see whether he can spot the dramatic sky show. In Kriek's birch- and spruce-studded forest scenes-they have the look of midcentury national park posters-Mika's search introduces him to a series of familiar forest animals ("Hello, wolf. Do you know where I can find the Northern Lights?"). An encounter with a wolverine is the only tense moment, though the story also includes a solemn warning for readers who might be tempted by solo expeditions ("You should never just sneak outside like that," says Papa. "Luckily we saw your paw prints in the snow"). In a final climactic spread, the whole bear family witnesses the greenish-blue light dancing across the sky. The illustrations' retro style and the story's earnest tone recall classic library favorites and provide just the right amount of bedtime excitement. Ages 3-5. (Oct.) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
Review by School Library Journal Review
PreS-Gr 1-Little Mika, a bear cub from the Far North, enjoys his summer, splashing in the river and eating delicious food that Mama and Papa Bear bring him. As days grow colder and winter approaches, Mika talks to an old owl and finds out about hibernating, and also about the Northern Lights. Not wanting to miss the special sight, he decides that he will not sleep through the winter and sneaks out of his den when his parents fall asleep. He asks different animals for directions, and eventually encounters the owl again, who points out the magnificent display in the sky. While the little bear watches, his worried parents arrive, having tracked his prints in the snow. Together, they watch "the beautiful lights" and retreat back to their cave for peaceful slumber. Kriek's delightful illustrations have a vintage feel; the cover is reminiscent of Lynd Ward's The Biggest Bear, though the images are closer in style to Robert McCloskey's. VERDICT There is certainly no shortage of bear books, but this quaint Dutch import just might be charming enough to merit addition to most large collections.-Yelena Voysey, formerly at Pickering Educational Library, Boston University © Copyright 2018. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Kirkus Book Review
A bedtime bear book with vintage flair. This Dutch import via the U.K. looks like a throwback to the work of mid-20th-century artists such as Leonard Wiesgard, Alice and Martin Provensen, Feodor Rojankovsky, and perhaps even Robert McCloskey, so well-known for a bear book of his own. The sans-serif type used on the cover and interior pages adds to this modern aesthetic, but rather than make the book feel dated, it's quite appealing. The engaging text doesn't seem to lose anything in Watkinson's translation as it tells the story of a little brown bear cub named Mika who doesn't want to hibernate after an owl tells him about the northern lights. He sneaks out when his parents are asleep in their den and asks the animals he meets how to find them. Neither the moose, the crane, the wolf, nor the wolverine can help him, but when he again encounters the owl, they look up together and see how "all kinds of different colours lit up the deep blue of the night." While Mika is caught up in his reverie with the northern lights, his parents arrive. They say they aren't angry with him, but they were worried and explain that they followed his paw prints through the snow to find him. Their return back to their cave is a cozy end to a truly lovely picture book.Old-fashioned in the beary best of ways. (Picture book. 2-7) Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
