(grades 3-7)
Publisher: Margaret K. McElderry Books
Paperback: October 1, 2019
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A runaway boy befriends a polar bear that’s being transported from Norway to London in this lyrical and timeless adventure story about freedom, captivity, and finding a family.
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The Inspiration behind writing Journey of the Pale Bear
Guest Post by Susan Fletcher
A number of years ago, while reading just for fun, I stumbled across something I knew I wanted to write about. The book was Daniel Hahn‘s The Tower Menagerie. Turns out, in the old days, kings used to give each other animals. In England, they were kept in a special place in the Tower of London—the menagerie. Over the centuries, the collection grew to include porcupines, eagles, tigers, wolves, lions, leopards, owls, rhinos, monkeys, a grizzly bear, and many other exotic animals.
My favorite was the polar bear given to King Henry III of England by King Haakon IV of Norway in 1252. Apparently, the bear was allowed to swim and fish for salmon in the Thames River just outside the Tower. The bear’s keeper, who came with it from Norway, apparently went into the river as well, wearing some sort of “thick wrap” provided by the sheriffs of the Tower.
The fact that the citizens of London in the thirteenth century were treated to the sight of a polar bear swimming in the Thames River just got me. And I wondered: Who was the keeper who came with the bear from Norway? And how did keeper and bear travel to England? And if the keeper actually swam in the river with the bear… There must have been some kind of unusual bond between them. How did that come about? Journey of the Pale Bear is my imagined answer to those questions.
To research Journey of the Pale Bear, I explored the grounds of the Tower of London and went backstage at the Oregon Zoo, where, standing breathtakingly near, I watched polar bears Tasul and Conrad lip grapes from their keepers’ open palms.
Author’s personal photo: a statue of King Henry’s polar bear at the Tower of London
Vermont’s 2019-2020 Dorothy Canfield Fisher list
2020 Oklahoma Sequoyah Book Award Children’s Masterlist
School Library Connection highly recommended book
Junior Library Guild Selection
50 Must-Read Historical Fiction Books for Kids, bookriot.com
“…a stupendous coming-of-age-tale stuffed with adventure and laced with deeper questions… A richly satisfying story saturated with color, adventure, and heart.” –Kirkus, starred review
“I simply adore this novel. It has it all: gorgeous prose, fascinating history, riveting adventure. But it’s the unlikely tender friendship between a lonely boy and a polar bear that makes this a story to cherish. A lovely little miracle of a book.”
–Katherine Applegate, Newbery Medal-winning author of The One and Only Ivan“I loved every single thing about this large-hearted and riveting medieval adventure.” —William Alexander, National Book Award-winning author of Goblin Secrets
Although Susan loves to write about long-ago and faraway places, she can’t bring those worlds to life without grounding them in the details of this one. To that end, she has explored lava tubes and sea caves; spent the night in a lighthouse; traveled along the Silk Road in Iran; ridden in a glider, on a camel, and on a donkey; and cut up (already dead!) baby chicks and mice for a gyrfalcon’s dinner. To research Journey of the Pale Bear, she explored the grounds of the Tower of London and went backstage at the Oregon Zoo, where, standing breathtakingly near, she watched polar bears Tasul and Conrad lip grapes from their keepers’ open palms.Journey of the Pale Bear is Susan’s 12th book, including the Dragon Chronicles series, Shadow Spinner, and Alphabet of Dreams. Collectively, her books have been translated into nine languages; accolades include a Golden Kite Honor Book, the American Library Association’s Notable Books and Best Books for Young Adults, BCCB Blue Ribbon Books, and School Library Journal’s Best Books.
Susan has an M.A. in English from the University of Michigan and taught for many years in the M.F.A. in Writing for Children and Young Adults program at Vermont College. She lives in Bryan, Texas with her husband, historian R.J.Q. Adams, and their dog, Neville.
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I loved this book so much it PAINS ME that it’s over. Thanks for the post about the author’s inspiration.