Winston of Churchill is a brilliant book. Great fun to read and look at, it painlessly teaches children a number of important facts. With captivating wit, author Jean Davies Okimoto explores global warming, Manitoba geography, former British Prime Minister Winston Churchill, and the dangers of smoking.

The plot is simple yet effective. Winston, a “fierce and brave bear,” writes a book to explain global warming and distributes it to all his fellow polar bears. He then galvanizes them, using some of his namesake’s famous rhetoric, into protesting human beings’ polluting habits with a peaceful march in front of the tourists. But first, he has to contend with his dissenting wife, who won’t wave a banner until he quits smoking cigars. Winston’s sacrifice perfectly exemplifies the book’s chief theme, which is that we must all do our part, no matter how small.

Okimoto’s prose often sparkles with a humour that operates on two levels. Children will love the bears’ refrain, “Ice is nice,” while adults will chuckle at allusive lines like, “Sometimes a cigar is just a cigar,” and the well-observed marital dialogue.

Jeremiah Trammell’s illustrations perfectly complement the vivacious text. The polar bears are adorable yet fairly realistic. His compositions are beautifully varied – quite a feat for a story set in the snowy tundra of Churchill and featuring a cast of white bears! Trammell also matches some of Okimoto’s humour, depicting a teenage bear adorned with green fur and a nose ring, tattoo, and big black leather bracelet.