So you just finished reading If Polar Bears Disappeared! Or maybe you’re just interested in polar bears… regardless of your reasoning, here are the books I’d recommend if you’d like to do some further reading.
If Polar Bears Disappeared is about polar bears and climate change and what would happen if the sea ice melted from the Arctic, causing the polar bears to disappear. While it is not directly stated in If Polar Bears Disappeared, the book is set in Nunavut, Canada. The books listed below are a combination of climate change books and books by Indigenous authors. Climate change might seem like an issue that is far away, but for natives to the Arctic Circle, climate change is right at their doorstep.
Descriptions by me, unless stated otherwise. Click the GOODREADS link to learn more.
TRUTH TO POWER
BY AL GORE
Comprehensively breaking down climate change, policies, and activism, Al Gore is back with a powerful new book about how to become an effective climate activist.
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DRAWDOWN: The Most Comprehensive Plan Ever Proposed to Reverse Global Warming
EDITED BY PAUL HAWKEN
This book is basically a guide on how to reverse climate change. Organized by categories, each action item has statistics and is packed with comprehensive information on how to help our planet. This book is a must-have for climate change activists.
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Fishing with Grandma
BY SUSAN AVINGAQ AND MAREN VSETULA, ILLUSTRATED BY CHARLENE CHUA
Colorful illustrations paired with informative text show a grandma taking her two grandkids out on the ice to go jigging for fish. The back matter has a glossary for Inuktitut terms and a description of Inuit fishing tools.
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A Walk On The Tundra
BY ANNA ZIEGLER AND REBECCA HAINNU, ILLUSTRATED BY QIN LENG
A beautiful book following Inuujaq and her grandmother, Silaaq, as they go on a walk across the Arctic summer fields gathering qijuktaat. The back matter includes a glossary of Inuktitut words and phrases used in the book.
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SWEETEST KULU
BY CELINA KALLUK, ILLUSTRATED BY ALEXANDRIA NEONAKIS
A stunning bedtime poem that reads like a song and features all of the Arctic animals giving gifts to the newborn baby. The illustrations help tell the story in a lovely magical way!
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SILA AND THE LAND
BY SHELBY ANGALIK, ARIANA ROUNDPOINT, LINDSAY DUPRE
From the authors: The process behind Sila and the Land is an important part of the story. Three young Indigenous women came together to write a children’s book that could help share perspectives on the land common across First Nations, Métis and Inuit communities. This includes a shared respect for the earth and an understanding of our responsibilities to protect it for future generations.
In order to convey these perspectives in the story, the authors spoke with youth from a number of Indigenous communities across Canada. They asked about why the environment was important to each of them and what land-based teachings and experiences were significant to their identities and cultures. Their responses helped shape the book, offering examples of things Sila could learn from the land during her journey traveling across the North, East, South and West.
It is important to note that while there are shared perspectives across Indigenous communities there are also many differences. This book does not claim to represent any specific cultures or teachings, but instead encourages children and youth to seek out knowledge from the territories that they are living on. It also aims to inspire other young Indigenous writers and illustrators to believe in their gifts and the power of their stories.
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Happy reading!
