Adrift: An Odd Couple of Polar Bears

We have Blobfish and Shark Detective by the same author (both of which my kids love), and I pre ordered Adrift. Jessica's first two books are clever and fun, but Adrift is my favorite so far. I love Hazel and Karl-- even though the text of the book is fairly simple, the subtext and the clever illustrations add rich meaning to the book. In a time where there's a lot of cold in the world-- literally and figuratively-- these polar bears have brought a little warmth and brightness to our family's bookshelf.

Jessica Olien does it again! What an amazing clever story about friendship set on the unique setting of a shrinking iceberg!. The two polar bears are full of personality and demonstrate that we don't all have to be the same to get along! There is also a nod to the affects of climate change and the protection of animals. Olien creates characters everyone young and old can relate to and cheer on. Beautiful Arctic settings and bold colorful character illustrations bring this story to life artistically as well. Sure to become one my students favorite requests.

Such a great story for today! This is all about how two polar bears learn to appreciate each other despite their differences. There are so many touching scenes of understanding and caring! Beautiful illustrations full of personality and mood.Also, an important book to help talk about changing climate and adaptation. Be sure to check this out!

Just plain great!

Karl and Hazel are polar bears who DO NOT like each other. Karl talks to much and Hazel not enough. When they get stuck on the same floe they MUST learn to get along as the ice is shrinking!The cover with the bold black lines and primary colors drew us to this book right off. The art inside did not disappoint either! It was stark and simple which translates to bold and stunning. I really loved how sexless both Karl and Hazel were in the drawings as well. No definition of what it means to be a girl or a boy, just simple accessories to be back to differentiate between the two bears. As this is typical for bears in nature too I thought this quite smart art wise.I'm not sure the story of how these two become friends translates very well for a young or a special needs audience. My nephew didn't understand what the birds had to do with them becoming friends. And the wall didn't make sense either! It's just a big leap. And there was no talk of kindness or understanding or service. You just magically become friends. The message about accepting those different from you is lost.Actually I find this a cute story for older children. It's not exactly home library worthy but with a mixed age audience it would work well. An older child would sit and read with a younger child and accept the childish drawings while also understanding the more advanced story. And when dealing with sibling relations you could explain "walls" and "birds" examples to a young child.The words used are quite good! There are no words that are too, too hard. And the pace and balance between dialouge, story and drawing is very good!

So excited these original and fun books keep coming out! My godchildren loved blobfish and shark detective, so I can't wait to see what they think of Adrift! I have to share that the weekend after we read blobfish probably 20 times, we went to the beach where my god daughter got stung for the first time by jellyfish and she was screaming but telling me the whole time she thought they were in the deep deep part of the ocean with the Blobfish live 😂 Great educational creative learning! And, with Adrift,Who doesn't love polar bears?

I bought this book for the kids I nanny for and they love it so much I had to buy another one. It's especially great for them because it teaches them how to enjoy people who are different than they are and how to get along with each other. It also helps to educate kids about polar bears and the arctic! I read a lot of books to them and have my favorites, and this is one of them.

Fun story about reluctant friends with an author's note at the end about polar bears being impacted by climate change and what readers can do to help. It's a silly story filled with sight gags and fun text.