by Alex Bell (Author) Tomislav Tomic (Illustrator)
A precocious young girl is determined to prove herself as an explorer in the first novel in the whimsical Polar Bear Explorers' Club series.
Stella Starflake Pearl knows, without a doubt, that she was born to be an adventurer. It's too bad girls are forbidden from becoming explorers. But Stella's father has never been one to play by the rules. Leaving behind her pet polar bear, Gruff, and beloved unicorn, Magic, Stella and Felix set off on an expedition to the snowy Icelands. There, Stella plans to prove herself as a junior explorer, worthy of membership in the Polar Bear Explorers' Club. So when Stella and three other junior explorers are separated from the rest of their expedition, she has the perfect opportunity. Can they explore the frozen wilderness and live to tell the tale? The first in Alex Bell's imaginative new series, The Polar Bear Explorers' Club is a fun and daring adventure filled with magic, outlaws, and fantastic faraway lands.
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This first book in Bell’s new series is full of magic and adventure, and its empowering message will resonate with anyone who has been barred from following their dreams.
Twelve-year-old Stella faces several challenges: her white skin and hair set her apart from the black, brown, and pink people who populate her community, and the Polar Bear Explorer's Club, which she desperately wants to join, does not allow female members. Stella's adoptive father, Felix, found her abandoned as an infant, and, aside from puzzling scenes in the nightmares she suffers, Stella has no memories of her birth family. When Felix, a renowned explorer, flouts the rules and takes Stella on a joint expedition with the Polar Bear and Ocean Squid Explorers' Clubs to venture to the coldest part of the Icelands, her adventure begins. After she and three other Junior Explorers are separated from the group, they navigate harrowing encounters--including one with "frosties," small fairy-like creatures capable of causing killer frostbite--and the even more vexing process of learning to work together. Bell (Frozen Charlotte) meticulously crafts her world, and detailed illustrations perfectly complement the tale. Celebrating kindness and belief in oneself, this satisfying series starter sheds light on Stella's past just in time to look forward to a second expedition. Ages 8-12. (Nov.)
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