Urso Brunov and the White Emperor by Brian Jacques, illustrated by Alexi Natchev.

This second Urso Brunov book continues the adventures of the Little Father of All Bears.  Urso Brunov is awoken by a call for help carried on the wind.  It is two young polar bears, a Prince and Princess who are lost and unable to return home after being carried away on an iceberg.  Urso Brunov is willing to help and uses his connections with other animals, all called by his bugle, to return the polar bears to their royal parents. 

The joy here is the skill of the writing by Jacques.  It has a folk tale quality and is written with such skill that it reads aloud with ease, flowing together into a seamless story that is equally effortless to listen to.  Natchev’s illustrations capture the animals and snowy landscape well.  They will project nicely to even a large group of listeners.

A great readaloud for slightly older audiences, this book is appropriate for 5-8 year olds.