SOLVED. Children's book - Uncle writing letters home, think to niece; on expedition through Arctic or Antarctic (somewhere snowy); some phenomena causes one month to continue past its natural end (32nd October etc). [s]

[Rachael]

I had a google and a book that is being suggested is Letters from a Lost Uncle by Mervyn Peake, but I am pretty confident that is not the correct book (pretty sure the protagonist of my book isn't lost, and book I read felt different, letters are generally neater than the Peake book).

Read about 2001 - 2007, protagonist is writing letters back home to his niece(?) to keep her up to date on his expedition. He isn't lost, he definitely visits a shop a few times. My brain is telling me a polar bear might show up at some point? Which I know technically pins it to the North Pole, but I feel like it was a big deal (which it would be even if it is the North Pole, apologies I was around 7 when I read this!). The uncle always dates the letters, and at one point something happens that makes the month keep going, so it reaches the 32nd October, then the 33rd (it may not be October, but that's the month that's in my head)

[Mai]

The Last Polar Bears by Harry Horse? It came up in a search and looking at the Google preview (the one for the 2003 edition) it does mention October having extra days:
"It said today was the thirty-second of October which can't be right as October only has thirty-one days..." (it keeps going to October 36, 39, etc.)

It's a grandfather sending letters to his grandchild.

[Rachael]

Mai wrote: "The Last Polar Bears by Harry Horse? It came up in a search and looking at the Google preview (the one for the 2003 edition) it does mention October having extra days..."

I have to up my googling game, that looks like exactly the book, the characters sound right, and the penguin at the wrong Pole fits, even though I had it as polar bears! Thank you so much