The Polar Bear Son: An Inuit Tale

by Lydia Dabcovich

A lonely old woman adopts, cares for, and raises a polar bear as if he were her own son in this retelling of a traditional Inuit folktale. When jealous villagers threaten the bear's life, he is forced to leave his home and his "mother." "The story gives a picture of motherly love toward an 'adopted child,' one the woman will love always. Heartwarming." — School Library Journal

Genres: Picture Books, Animals, Childrens, Mythology, Native American, Indigenous, Folk Tales

40 pages, Paperback

First published April 1, 1997

Reviews

[Julian]

My in-laws bought this one for my daughter in the National Gallery of Canada. It is a great folk tale about a polar bear cub being adopted by an old woman living alone. They become loving and loyal companions, until the bear, now a big one, needs to leave for his own safety. Great read and it sparked a discussion about folk tales and the Inuit people (I'm printing a map of their location right now).

[Kris]

Inuit tale about a polar bear adopted by a woman and how they take care of each other. Sweet, although my little boy was really bothered by the men who wanted to kill the polar bear. The illustrations are muted and expressive.

[Micha O'Connor]

This one is a tear jerker! An old woman lives alone in an Inuit Village with no family to hunt or provide for her. She has to depend upon her neighbors for food. That is, until one day, she finds a polar bear cub without a family of his own. She brings him home and shares what little bit she has with him. The polar bear grows, hunts and fishes, bringing the old woman more than enough. It is her turn to share with the villagers. The hunters began to get angry and decided to kill the bear. Hearing of their plan, she does what any mother would do; urges him to run for his life. Don’t worry though, this one has a bittersweet ending that you’ll have to see to believe.

[Fahula]

This beautifully illustrated picture book is an endearing Inuit folk tale. It has positive messages such as giving to others, adopting and attaching to family members, and demonstrating loyalty. It also provides opportunities to discuss envy and greed.

Note that there is mention of killing a character.

[Sandy]

A beautifully illustrated book that introduces the traditions and climate of the arctic and Inuit, including the appreciation for animals and the bond between mother and child that transcends species.

[Nahuatl P Vargas]

Este libro es precioso, me encanta, lo recomiendo mucho para niños desde preescolar, incluye información adicional sobre los pueblos originarios que tenían esta leyenda o historia sobre una mujer sin hijo que un día encuentra a un osezno huérfano y lo adopta.

[Kest Schwartzman]

a lovely example of similar circumstances leading to convergent folktales.

[Molly]

Story about an old woman and her bond with a polar bear. K-2

[Mariam Montaser]

قرأت النسخة الاصلية في كتاب inuit mythology و اعترف ان دي افضل بكتير😂💙

[emyrose8]

So sweet, but a little bittersweet at the end. Love it.

[Erin]

A wonderfully sweet book about family and community. I’m glad we have this in our home library

[Ting Zhang]

This book is appropriate for ages 3 to 6 in early childhood classrooms. The book” The Polar Bear Son” talks about an old woman lived in an Inuit village. She had no family and she felt lonely. One day she found a little white polar bear cub out on the ice. She thought his mother must have been killed. So she took him home. She shared with him the little food she had. She called him Kunikdjuaq and loved him as her son. He was happy with the old woman. The children of the village loved to play with him. However, Kunikdjuaq was getting too big and strong. The hunters wanted to kill him. Therefore, the old woman had to send Kunikdjuaq away. In the morning, the old woman went very far out on the ice and called, “Kunikdjuaq, Kunikdjuaq, my son!” Then a big polar bear came running to meet her. I like this book very much. I was impressed by the story. I’ll never forget this. After I finished reading this book, I was crying at that time. This story touched my heart and sparked my interest. This is a great story talks about the close relationship between an old woman and the faithful bear Kunikdjuaq. After children read this story, they learn to love animals because animals are our friends. The children will love bear Kunikdjuaq because he is cute, friendly, and kindly.

[Tasasha Battle]

A village's old woman is hungry and tired because she is alone. She has no sons or husband to help her. Not until she finds a polar bear and raises it has her own son. She is happy, but the rest of the village is jealous of her easy access to food and survival. They threaten to kill the bear, so the old woman forced the bear to leave. Find the book to figure what happened to the bear and old woman in the village. This book can be used to help students make their writings more relatable to their life. They can write about topics that are important to them and culturally related.

[Anna]

Such a sweet story and few enough words that this book could be used for storytime. (The author also provides the pronunciation for the main characters name in the 'author's note' page, yay!)

The story is about an old woman who has no family until she finds a polar bear cub who becomes her son. When the villagers decide to kill her son she sends him away but they still find a way to see each other.

[Laura]

Grade: K-1 or 2-3 (?)
Topic: learning about the Arctic/polar bears, living organisms, stories about animals

This story is a tale told by Inuit tribes about an old woman who raises a faithful polar bear. It could be used to talk about folk tales in different cultures, or to talk about life in the Arctic, or simply to learn a little bit about polar bears or the Inuit people.

[Kasey Jane]

I read the kindle version of this, but I wish I'd had the physical book. The art looks like beautiful northern watercolor in the style of Rie Munoz. I'd like to see if that is true.

The story was cute and simple, told in the fuzzy language of fairy tales. At the end, there is some more information about the Inuit people and legends. Well worth a spot on the book shelf!

[Lauren]

An Inuit traditional tale about an old woman that takes in a baby Polar Bear cub whose mother has been killed. The story is poignant and illustrations are gentle. This picture book would support upper elementary grades learning about Native Americans. I'm not sure if it would work in a folk tale unit as it might be harder to find the usual characteristics of this genre. Well worth a read.

[Kristin]

In this warm clear survival story, a lonely old Inuit woman adopts an orphan polar bear cub and raises it as her son until jealous hunters in the village threaten the bear’s life. The cool, muted gouache illustrations bring this loving story to life showing that family always sticks together.

[Nadine]

Gorgeous artwork!

[Kari]

Rory really enjoyed this. A very sweet story of love. Got this when looking for Native American stories.

[Angel B]

Sweet story. Beautiful illustrations.

[Amy Lohse]

We enjoyed this story of Kunikdjuaq. Would read again from the library, but not necessarily buy.