Moon Bears

August 31, 2015
In a follow-up to Polar Bears (2010), wildlife photographer Newman introduces a handful of moon bears that live at a sanctuary in Chengdu, China. Vivid photographs show the bears climbing trees, swimming, and relaxing in hammocks. In crisp, reportorial prose, Newman describes the bears’ physical and behavioral traits: “Poppy’s big, round ears help her hear what’s happening around her,” begins a page devoted to the animals’ powerful sense of hearing. Newman packs a good amount of information into her descriptions of the bears as they live in safety, though the account ends on a sobering note as he details the mistreatment of moon bears in circuses and at bear bile farms throughout China and Vietnam. Ages 4–8.

August 15, 2015
A wildlife photographer's images and accompanying descriptions of individual Asian moon bears from animal-rescue centers in Vietnam and China introduce these appealing creatures. At his publisher's behest and fresh from his work in the far north for Polar Bears (2011), Newman went to Asia to photograph moon bears rescued by the Animals Asia Foundation. The result is this unusual introduction, which names individual bears and describes moon bears' physical features, habits, and habitats in a two-level text. In large display type, a simple sentence includes the animal's name and a statement: "Poppy's big, round ears help her hear what's happening around her." A paragraph in smaller type connects the detail about the specific animal to more general characteristics of the species. Some color photos fill just a portion of a page or double-page spread, while others are full-page images, black-and-white vignettes, or even some color snapshots. Variations in format and arrangement of text and images provide enough visual pop to keep readers engaged. Wisely, given his target audience, the author makes no mention of bile bear farming until the concluding note, clearly aimed at adults who can decide whether and when to pass this sad fact on. Pair this with the collages and more lyrical text of Brenda Z. Guiberson and Ed Young's Moon Bear (2010) to extend the conversation with young readers and listeners. (Informational picture book. 4-8)

COPYRIGHT(2015) Kirkus Reviews, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

October 15, 2015
Grades K-2 All of the photographs included in this book were taken by renowned wildlife photographer Newman at China's Animals Asia Moon Bear Rescue Centers, sanctuaries for animals that have been abused and neglected in captivity. Marshaling an appropriate mix of text and images for young readers, Newman discusses the life cycle and feeding habits of moon bears in the wild, how their existence in captivity has changed their instinctive behaviors, and differences between moon bears and others in the bear family, especially the American black bear. The text calls out bears by their individual names and includes photographs of them at their most adorablerelaxing in hammocks, splashing in pools, and interacting with their rescuerswhich is a personable touch sure to delight young animal lovers. Because the moon bears are highly prized in Asia for their bile and often kept in squalid conditions, the call for their conservation is ever growing. Newman believes in the notion that the first priority in conservation is awareness, and this book makes long strides toward that end.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2015, American Library Association.)