A first introduction to the largest living land-dwelling carnivore.Except for one dramatic view of a nanurluk, or mythical giant bear (paired only with a perfunctory description), the bears in Christopher's low-contrast Arctic land- and seascapes adopt majestic but static poses. In his similarly straightforward, exclamation-mark-laden commentary, Flaherty not only fails to follow up with specifics about an observation that bears are "surprisingly fast," but notes amid a sparse handful of basic facts that they "wait silently at these breathing holes for hours waiting for a seal to appear." Likewise, in the co-published Narwhal, Hwei Lim furnishes only anemic scenes of the small whales posed tidily next to prey and predators, and along with averring that "males have a long tusk that looks like a long horn," writer Solomon Awa just leaves readers hanging after "People are still studying the narwhal to find out all the things its tusk can do!" The latter author and illustrator also skip any reference to narwhals in Inuit traditional culture. Uninspired outings. (Informational early reader. 6-8)

Gr 2-4 Flaherty's and Christopher's efforts have resulted in a solid but brief introduction to polar bears. Mostly fodder for simple reports, it is just right to build a foundational interest in the subject, covering diet, habitat, biology, and folklore. The illustrations depict scenes from the text and are also occasionally decorative. The mammal's predatory behavior is depicted in cool colors without a drop of blood. There is a gentleness to the work as well as power; a white luminescent skeleton pops against a black background in a spread on anatomy. However, the total lack of back matter is a drawback. VERDICT Although slight, this is just the ticket to spark interest in zoology enthusiasts. Nancy Call, Santa Cruz Public Libraries, Aptos, CA