Forever! Together by Charles Fuge

WHEN WE'RE TOGETHER, WE DON'T MIND THE COLD.

WE'LL ALWAYS HAVE EACH OTHER'S WARM HAND TO HOLD.

A spritely and jolly pair is this mother and baby polar bear. In a world of snow and ice sculpture that seems to go on forever, they slide down their own icy slopes and curl up in their snowy den. Everywhere they go they share as a pair.

Do they need tropical islands, warm breezes, silver sands, and palm trees? NOPE!

They build snow bears and throw snowballs by day and at night curl up in their cave, together, just right!

FOREVER!

In his warm and loving Together (Doubleday and Company, 2020), author-illustrator Charles Fuge offers the reassuring message to youngsters that they will always be loved. His arctic scene is rounded and friendly, done in lovely blues and whites, and closing in a cozy cuddle in the bears' snug ice cave. As Kirkus Reviews says, "Fuge remains unexcelled in depicting animal figures of extreme, relentless adorability!"

A Friend Indeed: Lost and Found by JiWon Beck

An indigenous girl makes her way through the snowscape to her hole in the ice, where she catches three fish, and with them over over her shoulder, confidently heads toward home. But a blinding snowstorm suddenly blows in, and she is lost in the vast expanse of white.

Through the windblown snowflakes she spots a fisherman's igloo, but when she takes shelter inside, she sees a young polar bear has gotten there first.

But the two see themselves in the same situation. The bear is friendly, and sensing that he is hungry, she gives him her fish, and the two share her little blanket through the cold night.

When the storm ceases, she catches more fish for her friend, and as the snow begins again, he escorts her, even giving her a ride on his back until she spies her little house ahead. The two say goodbye with a nose rub and a hug, and seeing that the young bear is reunited with his mama, the girl runs toward her own mother, their front door open wide for her.

In his wordless picture book, JiWon Beck's Lost and Found (Peter Pauper Press, 2019) tells a moving story of kindnesses shared, with strikingly lovely illustrations done in the spare colors of the arctic scene, gray, white, black, and the red of the child's mittens. Telling the same timeless story of kindness between unlikely friends as Aesop's ancient fable of the lion and the mouse, Beck's tale does it without text, but with the language of beautiful artwork that speaks volumes.

Share this one in the snowy season with Matthew Cordell's 2018 Caldecott winner, Wolf in the Snow (read review here).

With A Little Help From My Friends: The Polar Bear Wish by Lori Evert

Long, long ago, so high in the mountains and close to the stars that on a clear night you don't need a lantern, lived an adventurous girl named Anya.

It is almost Christmas, and little Anya wishes for a sled for her dog Birki to to take her to the big Christmas party, which promises games and dances and treats. And when her cousin Erik appears with his sled pulled by his dog Bria, Anya happily hitches Birki up with Bria, and the two are off through the snowy Scandinavian scene. But a sudden blizzard strands the two children, where they are led by friendly wolves to shelter overnight in the storm.

To add to their problems, a little polar bear named Tiny appears, lost from his mother, and Anya and Eric are diverted from their journey to reunite the little bear with his family, a magical trek through fantastic icy fjords to a ice palace where they rest overnight. But can they find Tiny's mother and still make it to the Christmas party?

In true fantasy fiction style, they do. Mother Bear and Tiny are reunited, and Anya and Eric feast and dance through the long Arctic night, in Lori Evert's second book, The Polar Bear Wish (A Wish Book) (Random House, 2018). Although Per Breiehagen's striking Nordic photos of his and Evert's own daughter are as charmingly appealing as in their earlier The Reindeer Wish (Wish Series), there's a bit of cognitive dissonance between the realistic photos and the fantastical storyline--offset a little by the trusty old ambivalent ending in which Anya awakes in her own bed ...

...to wonder if it all was a dream....

And for those who dote on truly snowy Scandinavian Christmas images, share this new one with Jan Brett's famous folkloric artwork in her The Three Snow Bears and The Wild Christmas Reindeer.

Spring Break! She'll Be Coming Up the Mountain by Kim Norman

She'll be coming up the mountain when she comes.

She'll enjoy our frozen fountain when she comes.

We will playfully hello her
And have lots we'll want to show her.

She'll be just the way we know her when she comes.

Everyone--Seal, Reindeer, Walrus, and the rest--are seen all aflutter up on the top of the mountain, where a cluster of critters are busily prepping for a visit from someone.

Who is the mystery guest!

Oh, they've kept in touch.

We sent a poem in a letter,
Even sent a hand-knit sweater....

But now that their rendezvous is forthcoming, an awesome Arctic party is being readied. There's a welcoming banner floating overhead, and all the animals are perfecting their acts for the celebration.

Everybody will be clapping,
While the caribou are rapping....

Not a creature will be napping when she comes.

She's surely a she. She's a someone they already know. But where's she been and what has kept her away so long?

Who she is becomes clearer as they cheerily gift wrap up presents--a bear-sized bikini, for one thing...

But there's a big surprise to be, when they see their guests are THREE, in Kim Norman's She'll Be Coming Up the Mountain (Sterling Books, 2016). With the fun of the familiar rhythm and rhyme scheme of the folk song "She'll Be Coming Around the Mountain," and refitted with author Norman's clever lyrics to the old verse, young readers may not notice that one important character is missing from the cast of characters in her two earlier books, Ten on the Sled and If It's Snowy and You Know It, Clap Your Paws! (read reviews here). Yes, and what she's been doing all winter in her cozy den won't be a mystery when she arrives with her two little surprises. Norman's storytelling builds suspense as it inspires a singalong, and artist Lisa Woodruff's charming illustrations provide plenty of eye-pleasing entertainment along the way to the big reveal.

This is a snowy story, but not necessarily a wintry tale, as warmer weather brings Polar Bear and her adorable babies out to meet their friends. Says School Library Journal, "It's a sprightly seasonal selection."