Dan Bar-el

This hilarious retelling of the French folktale of the Three Perfect Peaches is narrated by unorthodox fairy Libby Gaborchick (spelled with one "c," please!), giving it a distinctly Jewish flavor. When Princess Vera is taken ill, Libby diagnoses her problem immediately: lack of love. The cure? Three perfect peaches, and marriage to the man who delivers them. Enter three brothers (naturally): Sheldon, Harvey and Marvin. The older two are "big hunks," but their lack of filial devotion, and show more rudeness to their elders - "This is the way to talk to a stranger?" asks Libby, after meeting Harvey - doom them to failure, in their quest to win the princess. It is the youngest - skinny but kind-hearted Marvin - who succeeds, with the help of a special whistle...

Fractured fairy-tales have to be done just right, demonstrating an understanding of, and respect for, the original material, while also presenting an original and entertaining innovation. Sometimes they work, and sometimes (as with Once Upon a Cool Motorcycle Dude) they fall flat. This retelling by Dan Bar-El definitely works, and I found myself laughing throughout. I was surprised, actually, at how much I enjoyed Such a Prince, as I don't usually care for the more "cartoony" fairy-tales, and the cover illustration had me convinced that this was such a one. I was also reminded, in the course of reading, of the Norwegian tale, Herding the King's Hares, which I just read the other day, in the D'Aulaires' East of the Sun and West of the Moon. I'm certainly glad I gave this a chance, and recommend it to fairy-tale fans with a good sense of humor! show less

Readers who like a gentle story with lovable characters and quiet humor will be delighted to return to the world of Duane the polar bear and his friends, first introduced in The Very, Very Far North.
In the first book, Duane moved to a new home and made, and named, friends - C.C. the snowy owl, Handsome the musk ox, Boo the caribou, Magic the Arctic fox, Major Puff the puffin, and Twitch the Arctic hare. Each has their own unique personality, interests, and behaviors. C.C. is a scientist and show more doesn't do well with emotions or feelings, but she does love her friends and will adapt to help them. Twitch can be anxious and worried, especially about her dear friend Major Puff, but her friends are always ready to help her. Handsome is always worried about his appearance, but when his friends really need him, he's there. Major Puff is brave - but sometimes even a brave puffin gets lonely and scared.

A new character shows up in this book, a strange creature with no name who disrupts the quiet life of the animals and leads some of them into serious trouble. However, with all of them working together, they are able to repair friendships, rebuild trust, and find their little family even stronger than before.

There are moments of quiet humor throughout the book, sprinkled among the pages like the sweet black and white sketches that show the animals interacting with each other. Readers will giggle and sympathize over C.C.'s awkward (and disastrous) attempts at small talk and shy readers especially will empathize with Boo's distress when her privacy is violated. I appreciated the way this incident, a major part of the book is handled. Boo doesn't "get over" her shyness, discover that she loves performing in public, or discover that she really should be more like her friends. Instead, she is truly and deeply hurt and her friends realize this. Saying sorry isn't enough; they have to make amends, however inadvertent their actions were. There's no blaming the creature that led Magic into mischief, and caused her to in turn lead the others into actions that hurt one of their own. Magic takes responsibility for her own actions, as do the others, and they are willing to make themselves vulnerable to repair the harm they've done to their friend. It's a lovely way of showing a group of neuro-diverse characters and how they all relate to each other in a healthy, kind way.

Teachers and caregivers looking for books that focus on social-emotional intelligence will find this a welcome addition to their libraries. Young readers who enjoy meaty language and a gentle storyline, will appreciate the quiet humor and silly phrases. It's not necessary to read the first book, but it does introduce the characters and it's better to read them in tandem to get the full flavor of the experience.

Verdict: If you have fans of the first book, or are looking for a quiet read-aloud for a class of kindergarten up to about third grade, or have a fluent reader who wants a gentle story, this is an ideal choice. The ending seems to imply the finish of the books, but more would be welcome.

ISBN: 9781534433441; Published October 2020 by Atheneum; ARC provided by publisher for review show less

This is the first time I've read a chapter book by Dan Bar-El; I mostly think of him as a Canadian picture book author and he's done some quite cute things. This was sold to me as "quirky" which honestly made me doubtful at first, but I thought it might be a good fit for a small group of kids I have who are hard to fit as readers. Mostly homeschooled, they are generally fluent readers for their age group but are just generally younger in their interests - they like cozy stories, no monsters show more or scary stuff, but they want to read more challenging chapter books. Luckily, this turned out to be just the gentle, charming story they will enjoy.

Duane the polar bear travels to the Very, Very Far North in summer. There he finds a home and new friends, whom he names, including C. C. the owl, Handsome the musk ox, Magic the arctic fox, and eventually Major Puff the puffin and Twitch the hare. His experiences are episodic, each chapter representing a new story or quiet adventure.

C. C. the owl is Duane's first friend. She lives on a shipwreck and spends her time reading, conducting experiments, and thinking. However, she's always ready with suggestions and advice for Duane and he listens to her, both for her knowledge and to learn how to be a good friend. For example, Duane likes to give bear hugs, but C. C. doesn't like to be touched so Duane respects that.

As Duane interacts with his other friends, he learns things about them - and about himself. He learns to say no to Magic's enthusiasm when it's uncomfortable and dangerous, to pay attention to his friend Handsome's feelings and not just what he says. Duane also meets other friends that he sees more rarely, like Sun Girl and the Pack and, at the end of the book, the shy Boo.

Sweet black and white illustrations are sprinkled throughout the book, showing interesting characters who populate Duane's world, as well as a little of the amazing Arctic wonderland he lives in.

This isn't a fast-paced adventure tale or fantasy; it's exactly what the author calls it in the subtitle, "a story for gentle readers and listeners." It's got a nice episodic flow, making it a lovely bedtime story for calming down, gentle humor to entice readers, and a fun plethora of interesting words and ideas to draw in younger readers and listeners with a large vocabulary.

Verdict: This won't appeal to all kids, but to that certain group who like comforting stories without a lot of drama, action, or angst, it will be a favorite to return to again and again. Recommended for readers who like old-fashioned and gentle stories with a contemporary feeling like Kallie George's Heartwood Hotel or Anna Humphrey's Megabat.

ISBN: 9781534433410; Published September 2019 by Atheneum; Galley provided by publisher show less

Well, well, well...if it isn't the gang!

Look!

There's C.C., Magic, Boo, Duane, the Major, Twitch, and Handsome! Oh, it's like I can feel the great big group hug they are all sharing...and that feeling carries itself throughout the story. Through good times and bad, happiness and less-than-happiness, we get to know these furry, feathers, and horned friends THAT much better. We grow to understand that some of us are better at things than others (like small talk with Magic versus C.C.)...and show more that's okay! We accept that there are choices to be made in life, but they aren't always in our control (like the Major with his migration and Twitch's extra twitchiness)...but there are still things to learn from those situations. We learn that secrets are not always meant to be shared, especially when they are not our own (like our dear sweet Boo)...there are those that will lead us astray much for their own amusement (that new "friend" I mentioned) and to our detriment...and that unexpected things can crop up in life that change the whole dynamic of our day to day lives, but friendship, TRUE friendship can whether any storm.

It was a grand adventure, as was to be expected from my first visit to the VERY, VERY FAR NORTH, and contained so many pearls of wisdom, one could make a necklace from them. All the feelings, all the friendships, all the fun is certainly something that stays with you long after the last turn of the page. Quite honestly, there was one part that actually brought me to tears, TEARS I tell you! Handsome would be so upset because they were leaving trail marks down my cheeks...but I'm quite certain he, Duane, or any of the rest of the crew would be standing by with a tissue at the ready...because THAT'S what friends do! They are there for one another, through thick and thin, and some of the new visitors of the VERY, VERY FAR NORTH have a thing or two to learn about the strength of those bonds, and these guys are just the friends to do it.


**review copy received; opinions are my own show less