A Voice for the Spirit Bears

March 1, 2019
Can young Simon's campaigns to protect vulnerable bears help this lonely child gain confidence and connection? Seven-year-old Simon's classmates bully him for stuttering. He copes by focusing on his love of bears, admiring their powerful presence. Simon's fascination spurs him to action when he learns that logging threatens brown bear habitat. The white boy writes letters to political leaders and raises funds with a lemonade stand he opens especially to save the bears. When the bears' habitat is eventually saved, Simon believes that "[h]is words had helped make a difference" and takes up a new cause as a teenager: organizing a student letter-writing campaign on behalf of rare spirit bears. As Simon prepares to make classroom presentations, he admonishes himself: "TRY." As if through sheer force of will, he speaks without stuttering and inspires his classmates to join his campaign. Oliver's narrative leaps forward, and readers may find Simon's exponential impact startling: his founding of the Spirit Bear Youth Coalition (which "millions" join), his friendship with Jane Goodall, and his participation in a spirit bear research expedition. Only passing mention is made of "local Indigenous communities" that were central to the real-life spirit bear campaign. Sadly, this story employs both a white savior complex (despite brown-skinned background characters in Dockrill's wan illustrations) and upsetting disability tropes in which disabled people overcome their conditions if only they try hard enough.A simplistic, whitewashed view of social change paired with a shallow framing of disability. (author's note) (Picture book/biography. 7-9)

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June 1, 2019

Gr 1-4-Kids can make a difference. That's how young Simon felt about endangered bears, particularly the "Spirit Bears" of the Great Bear Rain Forest. A subspecies of the North American black bear, some of these animals were born with creamy white fur, and held a place in Native American mythology for uncounted generations. When Simon discovered their age-old forest was in danger of clear-cutting, he found his voice. Despite a difficult stutter, and much bullying at school over his newfound enthusiasm, Simon began to write letters. And he began to talk-memorizing speeches to quell his stuttering-to groups, pleading for protection for the Spirit Bears' environment. He founded SBYC (Spirit Bear Youth Coalition), which had six million members worldwide by 2013. He was befriended by Jane Goodall, doyenne of environmentalists and animal behaviorists. He stood up to the teasing and mockery and reinforced his efforts to see the creation of the Spirit Bear Conservancy. Oliver's soft, simple text records these challenges and Simon's successes, while Dockrill's gentle, semi-realistic illustrations keep step. Team this with Dorothy Hinshaw Patent's handsome Garden of the Spirit Bear: Life in the Great Northern Rainforest for a more complete understanding of Simon's vision. VERDICT An inspirational base for further environmental efforts by young people, and a plea for reducing the goals of bottom lines.-Patricia Manning, formerly at Eastchester Public Library, NY

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