Polar Bear Postman [Hardcover]

Milk is the polar bear postmaster of the forest. One day he receives a card that says “Please help!” It is from a red-crested crane couple whose chick has gone missing. Spring gives way to summer and Milk receives another post card—this time from a red-crested crane couple who live in another district telling him that they have been taking care of a lost crane chick and asking for help in finding its family. Milk is modeled on an actual polar bear living in the Kushiro Zoo in Hokkaido, who is so adept at walking erect on his two hind legs that visitors say he looks like a person in a bear suit. The bear is joined in this amusing story by a variety of animal species native to Hokkaido.

"It’s lots of fun watching the postal bear stamp pieces of mail at his desk and pedal his delivery bike through small villages; delicate silhouettes of plants and flowers offer contrast." —Publishers Weekly

"Using heavy black outlines for his characters, Kijima works in a rich array of habitats, evoking them with slashes of color and whispering swipes of clouds." —Kirkus Reviews

"Inspired by the antics of a real bear residing in the Kushiro Zoo in his native Hokkaido, artist Seigo Kijima incorporates the beauty of Japanese wildlife and landscape in a charming tale of love, hope, and community." —Pallas Gates McCorquodale,Foreword Reviews

"This story is not only sweet but culturally fascinating, introducing animals native to Japan . . . The artwork is memorable, depicting the animals with broad paint strokes and muted nature colors atop bold, almost blinding, sherbet-colored backgrounds (rosy pink, deep grape, neon yellowgreen)." —Becca Worthington,Booklist

"My daughter enjoyed reading about Milk, and since she’s always been enamored by sending and receiving mail via post, she was impressed by how much couldl³’