How to catch a polar bear

In this funny and heartwarming companion to The Rhino in Right Field (2018), Nick, 12, narrates the tale of how Frosty, a polar bear, ruins Nick's summer plans after escaping from the local Milwaukee zoo. It's 1948, and Nick expects to spend the summer playing ball with his friends Ace and Penny. As the summer begins, Nick is shocked to discover Frosty in the alley behind his house. Though Frosty is soon recaptured, Nick learns he was deliberately let out of his cage. While Nick is stuck working at his uncle Spiro's frozen custard concession (which happens to be at the zoo), Ace gets a paper route, which he hands off to Penny after a week. Uncle Spiro's business rival, the nasty Happy Harold, sets up a retaliatory custard stand just outside the zoo. As Ace unhappily starts working for Happy, the kids seize the opportunity to investigate Frosty's escape. All the characters have big personalities and cue as white. This sweet, relatable story will appeal to readers interested in friendship, family relationships, and community.

When Nick Spirakis spots Frosty the polar bear in the alley behind his house, he knows that the summer of 1948 will not be tranquil. Nick, the son of Greek immigrants, lives in Wisconsin, only a few blocks from the city zoo. His mother even mentions an episode involving an escaped monkey in 1929. But this is not the 12-year-old's first encounter with a zoo animal, as told in The Rhino in Right Field (2018). Nick shines shoes on Saturday mornings in his Pop's shop and works at Uncle Spiro's frozen custard shop in the afternoons. This summer Spiro has the frozen custard concession at the zoo, and Nick and a 14-year-old boy will run the freezer cart. Nick is sure his presence at the zoo will help him and pals Ace and Penny solve the mystery of Frosty's escape. What follows is a breathless, often hilarious, series of events. A custard war, a secret ingredient, dastardly deeds, animals behaving strangely, a bit of romance, and a stand for girls' rights are all part of the adventures. Nick will win readers' hearts as he narrates the tale, speaking with enthusiasm, humility, and honesty. The characters are charming, funny, and quirky, and DeKeyser seamlessly weaves in cultural references and slang expressions from the postwar period. Wonderfully imaginative with just a touch of earnestness. (author's note) (Fiction. 8-12) Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

Chapter 1 CHAPTER 1 THE SUMMER OF 1948 STARTED with a bang. Or, I should say, a crash. It was early morning on the first day of summer vacation, and I was still half asleep. If you're a delicate sort of person, skip the rest of this sentence, because I was lying on top of the sheets in my underwear. Sorry about that, but it was the middle of a heat wave. My bedroom window was wide open, but that didn't help. I couldn't feel even the hint of a breeze. I tried to distract myself by imagining everything that would make this the best summer ever. No more sixth grade. Swimming at the lakefront. Ball games at Orchard Field. CRASH! I opened my eyes. Someone--or something--was out in the alley behind the house. Raccoons in the garbage cans again? Or maybe Ace's little sister left her roller skates out (again), and the milkman tripped over them (again). Whatever it was, I was too sleepy and too sticky to get up and look. Downstairs in the kitchen, the radio hummed to life. Ma was up early, as usual. Maybe she had taken the garbage out and had knocked over the trash cans by accident. Top o' the morning, folks! It's your ol' pals Ray and Bob here on WTRJ radio, helping you start your day. BOB: It's gonna be another hot one, folks. The mercury will be working its way up to ninety-one degrees today. RAY: It might be a good day to head on down to the lakefront, don't you think, Bob? BOB: Or you could go to a nice air-conditioned movie theater. Sit back and enjoy that new John Wayne picture in cool comfort. CRASH! Now I sat up in bed. That wasn't Ma. I could hear her rattling around in the kitchen downstairs. I hopped out of bed and poked my head out the window. "Holy smokes!" I blinked. I rubbed my eyes and looked again. Something had knocked over the trash cans, all right. But it wasn't a raccoon, and it wasn't the milkman tripping over roller skates. It was a polar bear. Excerpted from How to Catch a Polar Bear by Stacy DeKeyser All rights reserved by the original copyright owners. Excerpts are provided for display purposes only and may not be reproduced, reprinted or distributed without the written permission of the publisher.