Book Review: Emma, Polar Bear

Reviewed by Toni Woodruff

A surprising adventure for one imaginative sister

There once was a polar bear cub with a great big appetite. From the moment her mother called her for breakfast, she’d stop at nothing to get her meal. Would it be fish? Berries? Or something even sweeter?

But the journey to breakfast is long and arduous. It requires bravery and cunning, balance and creativity, and even a foe. A walrus emerges from arctic waters ready to steal that cub’s breakfast, but he’s no match for her. “Not today, brother!”

When the cub finally reaches her mother’s prepared meal, she’s surprised at what she finds. What are these mysterious “pan-cakes” she speaks of? And has she really had them before?

Emma, Polar Bear by Daniel Blough is a creative introduction to what adult readers know as the plot twist. Imagine the surprise on your little one’s face when that polar bear cub transforms into her true self: Emma, a human girl in a polar bear costume, with a human brother touting a walrus shirt. This is a story about creativity—about following your own imagination and becoming who you want to be in your storybooks. We start out with Emma as the polar bear. There’s no question she is one, until her journey starts to become longer and more arduous. And her mother, it turns out, has human feet. This is an adventure of the mind.

The journey is, perhaps, a little too long. As an adult reading along with the sweetly rhyming words, I can’t help but wonder how this polar bear cub could have heard its mother shout for breakfast if it had to walk so long to get there. But the question eventually answers itself—it’s Emma who is making her own journey downstairs, filling each moment with adventure.

The illustrations are sweet and bright, and the inclusion of Emma’s brother in the way is a smart one. Little ones everywhere will be glad to hear that even Emma, a strong polar bear cub, has to deal with pesky brothers trying to steal their food when they’re not looking.

Emma can’t wait to go on another breakfast adventure by the end of it, and we feel the same way. Her other costumes—like a tiger and a brown bear—promise more books in the future with Emma’s bright imagination leading the way. If your kid is an adventuring, imagination-wielding bear cub ready to take on the world, Emma, Polar Bear will celebrate their adventurous nature and get them to buy even further in to their creative storytelling. And the look of surprise on their face when they experience their first plot twist will, of course, make the whole thing plenty worthwhile.

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