THE EGYPTIAN POLAR BEAR

Egyptologists (in all honesty) have found hieroglyphics recording plans for a polar bear's burial vault. Adinolfi felt the bear's story had gone begging for too long. Thus, although not exactly cut from the cloth of history, Nanook the lonely polar bear's saga begins. Many years ago, the bear hitched a ride on a passing iceberg in search of a fellow creature's company. He floated way south, slipped through the Straits of Gibraltar, and washed ashore in Egypt, then ruled by the lonely boy king Rahotep. The king ordered cool drinks to soothe the beast. He offered Nanook a slice of goose, and though the bear sensed it was not seal meat, he took a nibble, then more. Rahotep felt brave, Nanook felt sated, and both felt a dent in their loneliness. Nanook became the royal playmate and engaged in typical fifth-dynasty shenanigans: griffin hunting, pyramid climbing, dancing till the sun rose over the sphinx. Fast friends forever. This book is pure entertainment, so don't go searching for great truths. The story will grow on you, as will the stylized, altered-state illustrations, richly colored confections as loopy as the story. (Picture book. 4-8)