A Pair of Polar Bears: Twin Cubs Find a Home at the San Diego Zoo

by Joanne Ryder, World-Famous San Diego Zoo (Photographer)

Overview

TWIN POLAR BEAR CUBS

Kalluk and Tatqiq were only three months old when they were found orphaned in Alaska. Together they were brought to the World-Famous San Diego Zoo to be cared for.

From the cubs' first tentative months in the zoo's infirmary to their home in the Polar Bear Plunge, this book chronicles the twins' development with exclusive photographs from the zoo and Joanne Ryder's poetic, informative text. Playful and curious, Kalluk and Tatqiq have won the hearts of more than three million people who visit the zoo each year. Whether they're diving into the water, rolling in the dirt, or sliding down a snowdrift, these adorable bears will charm readers of all ages.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780689858710
Publisher:	Simon & Schuster Books For Young Readers
Publication date:	03/01/2006
Pages:	32
Product dimensions:	11.00(w) x 8.50(h) x 0.40(d)
Age Range:	4 - 8 Years

About the Author

Joanne Ryder is the award-winning author of numerous children's books about the natural world, including Little Panda: The World Welcomes Hua Mei at the San Diego Zoo. Some of her other books include Bears Out There, Chipmunk Song, The Snail's Spell, and White Bear, Ice Bear. Before becoming a full-time writer, Joanne worked as a children's book editor in New York City. She lives in California.

The World-Famous San Diego Zoo is recognized as one of the world's premier animal parks and has more than four thousand rare and endangered birds, mammals, and reptiles, situated in one hundred acres of award-winning tropical gardens. This famous destination attracts more than three million visitors a year. You can learn more about the zoo and polar bears at www.SanDiegoZoo.org.

Editorial Reviews

PreS-Gr 3-Orphaned polar bears are the darlings of this engaging book that chronicles their growth and development at the San Diego Zoo. Only three months old when they first arrived there, Kalluk and Tatqiq are shown adjusting to their new home in large, full-color photographs. Playful and inquisitive, they explore the new exhibit by sniffing and investigating. Kalluk, the braver of the two, is quick to act, while his sister thinks before responding. As in Little Panda (S & S, 2001), Ryder provides two lines of text-one for very young children that consists of short exclamatory sentences in large type, and the second for older readers interested in scientific and developmental information, and set in a smaller, italicized font. Valuable for both curriculum support and recreational reading, this book will win the hearts of many children.-Wendy Woodfill, Hennepin County Library, Minnetonka, MN Copyright 2006 Reed Business Information.

School Library Journal

Ryder supplies two sets of captions in different point sizes-one for younger, the other for more able readers-to a gallery of big, color photos featuring two adorably fuzzy, alert-looking polar bear cubs in this engaging follow up to Little Panda: The World Welcomes Hua Mei at the San Diego Zoo (2001). Orphaned at just three months old, the bears (later named Kalluk and Tatqiq) explore the indoor pen where they're cared for until old enough to be introduced in stages to their outdoor habitat. As they grow up in the photos, Ryder describes their behavior, intelligence, distinct personalities and comfortable relationship with each other and with zoo-goers. Perfect fare for young fans after Miela Ford's Bear Play (1995). (Picture book/nonfiction. 5-8)

Kirkus Reviews