Cub's Big World

A polar bear cub's first venture outside introduces her to a dazzling arctic landscape. Cub wonders at colors she's never seen, new geography, and the sheer expanse of the world. When a tumble down a hill separates her from her mother, Cub must use what she knows to find her, and the suspense is toddler-perfect. Cepeda's oil and acrylic paintings are textured and luminous.

A polar bear cub’s first venture outside the womblike cave she shares with her mother introduces her to a dazzling arctic landscape. Cub wonders at colors she’s never seen (“‘Blue,’ said Mom. ‘Blue,’ whispered Cub”), new geography, and the sheer expanse of the world (it is “big, BIG, BIG!”). When a tumble down a hill (“Fast, fast, fast! The world was fun!”) separates parent and child, Cub must use what she knows (“Mom’s nose was black. Cub looked for one black thing in a white, white world”) to find her again, meeting some new animals along the way. Cepeda’s oil and acrylic paintings are textured and luminous, introducing endless variety to the limited palette of whites, blues, and blacks and using perspective to evoke both the vastness of the world and the comforting intimacy of the parent-child relationship. The suspense is toddler-perfect, with Mom appearing the moment it all becomes too much, and Thomson’s strong, simple prose, just a few brief sentences per page, is reassuring without veering into the treacly. Cub’s agency is quietly encouraged, tempered by Mom’s promise that “the world is big. I’ll be close by till you’re big, too,” and lessons in visual learning and categorization are neatly woven into Cub’s search. Lap-sit ready, with a built-in hug at the end. claire e. gross