Borealis, a newborn polar bear cub, snuggles with his Mama inside a cozy den. Months later, they venture outside to hunt for seals on the sea ice. It’s important that they find enough to eat before the ice melts. When Mama senses that summer is coming, they return to the shore. Here, they observe snowy owls, lemmings, ptarmigan, colourful tundra flowers, and Northern Lights. Then they travel to Cape Churchill, where the sea ice forms the earliest on Hudson Bay, to spend winter on the ice.

Unlike other wildlife series, this book, the first in the Wild Beginnings series, carries the scientific weight of non-fiction, but is told through the eyes of the bear cub. Children not yet accustomed to information books will appreciate the way this book melds two disparate genres. Full-page nature photographs by Daniel J. Cox give Borealis a non-fiction look, as do pronunciation keys, an index, and a map of Canada. Saskatchewan nature writer Rebecca Grambo has structured this book as dialogues between the cub and his Mama. The cub’s questions, the mother’s answers, and the descriptive narrative all work together to produce an informative portrayal of polar bears’ lives. Some young readers may be upset by one of the descriptions of hunting, which could be a little too graphic for some (“When she found a den, Mama smashed through the roof and snatched the fat seal pup inside”), but this is real-life stuff and all part of the food chain.

With its details about the characteristics and behaviours of Arctic animals, this book will be an asset, especially to Grade 2 curriculums.