There Are No Polar Bears Here!

Kelly L. Green is editor of the Canadian Book Review Annual’s
Children’s Literature edition.

Kerry keeps finding polar bears hanging around the cove. They appear in
the patch where she picks partridgeberries, on the back porch when she
sweeps the kitchen, and on her shortcut to school. The problem is, no
one believes her when she tells them—except Grandma, who says that
some people have to see things with their own eyes. Finally, the night
of the cove’s bean supper, when everyone who lives in the cove gets
together, they get to do just that. Kerry is vindicated.

This picture book presents Kerry as Everychild, the one who knows what
she sees but is not believed. It is worthwhile for this alone. The way
in which the story is told, however, with excellent use of sing-song
repetitive sequences, and lots of idioms, slang, and experiences
peculiar to Newfoundland, make it a full-fledged “contribution to
Canadian culture.” Recommended.