The Polar Bear's Gift

ISBN 0-88995-220-5

Just as one must learn to walk before one can run, so must Pani learn to fish before she can become a great hunter. She soon discovers, however, that being a hunter takes more than brawn and daring; for compassion and kindness are at least as important. Finding a wounded cub on the sea ice, she nurses it back to health even though it would have been an easy kill.

This was the first book I did for Red Deer Press. The anthropomorphizing of the bears was interesting; I found myself asking "what would a polar bear igloo look like?" I also thought Jeanne did a good job exploring the complex relationship the Inuit have with nature. Pani recognizes that the bear she meets on the tundra could feed and clothe her family, but this does not stop her from respecting nature.

From Canadian Materials:

"Vladyana Langer Krykorka represents the story in the colours of the Northern Lights. The reader can feel the wind blowing and the stinging snow in the strokes of white that cross each two page spread. Her style adds a mystical element to the legend."