C a n d l e w i c k P r e s s

Illustration © 2020 by Shawn Harris

A Polar Bear in the Snow
MAC BARNETT ART BY SHAWN HARRIS

A majestic polar bear

heads out on a mysterious
walk in a dazzling, playful
collaboration from an
exciting pair of
picture book creators.

Follow a magnificent polar bear

through a fantastic world of
snow and shockingly blue sea.
Over the ice, through the water,
past Arctic animals and even a
human . . . where is he going?
What does he want? Acclaimed
author Mac Barnett’s narration
deftly balances suspense and
emotion as well as poignant,
subtle themes, compelling us to
MAC BARNETT ART BY SHAWN HARRIS follow the bear with each page
turn. Artist Shawn Harris’s
striking torn-paper illustrations
On sale October 13, 2020 layer white-on-white hues, with
HC: 978-1-5362-0396-7 • $17.99 ($23.99 CAN)
bolts of blue and an interplay of
Ages 3–7 • 40 pages
shadow and light, for a bear’s-
eye view of a stark yet beautiful
landscape. Simple and thought-
provoking, illuminating and
intriguing, this gorgeous story
will have readers pondering the
answer to its final question long
after the polar bear has
continued on his way.
Illustration © 2020 by Shawn Harris
A Conversation with the Creators
How did this book come about?

MB: Shawn and I have been friends since we were kids. Here we
are on the same soccer team! (I’m the spindly one who looks
like he’s bad at soccer.) Shawn is one of the few people I’ll
show a story I haven’t finished yet. There’s not a book I’ve
written that he hasn’t opined on, meaningfully, at some early
stage. We have a particular rhythm when we’re trying to
crack an idea—things start off pretty slow, but we start
egging each other on, and wild digressions feed back into
breakthroughs, and pretty soon we’re talking loud and fast. It
was like that with this book.

SH: I brought proofs for my first picture book, Her Right Foot, over to Mac’s house. It was
breakfast time. He was reading the newspaper and drinking coffee. My illustrations in
that book are all cut-paper collages—I used construction paper of various hues, but
there’s one picture where I put white construction paper on a white background and
the shape is defined only by shadows. I was getting excited about the possibility of
making a book of collages made only with white paper.

MB:  My ears perked up. It was a cool idea, but I was also reading a good article about
Justin Bieber. Shawn said, “Like, you could make a picture of a polar bear in the snow.”
I looked up from the newspaper and said, “That’s a good title.” Then Shawn said, “It
could go like this,” and I said, “Wait, what if it went like this?” And then Shawn said,
“Do you want to write it?” And I had to set down my coffee and go take a shower,
which is where I like to do my thinking. I came back to the kitchen and said yes.

How did your lengthy friendship impact your collaboration, if at all?

SH: We are good at arguing. In fact, we like arguing.

MB: Unfortunately, we agreed on everything in this book.

Illustration © 2020 by Shawn Harris

 
Shawn, tell us about your cut-paper collection. How do you find just the right shades for
the various whites, grays, and blues?

SH: Each sheet of paper is unique; every brand, style, and era has a specific texture. I
tried to collect as many as I could. The original art is smaller than it appears in the
book (about 50 percent), so the nooks and crannies are magnified and give even the
blank pages the atmosphere of falling snow. Even when the illustrations become blue,
you’re still looking at collages made with just white paper. I used blue stage-lighting
gels to tint the lights while I took the photos of the artwork you see in the book.

Mac, how did you decide on the question/answer, call-and-response format for this
book?

MB: This book is a mystery story, animated by a single question: Where is the polar bear
going? That question, I hope, immediately generates suspense—it makes you want to
turn the pages. The page turn is the most important formal aspect of a picture book,
and every page turn is an opportunity to surprise. This book especially is structured
as a series of surprises.

Which writer and/or illustrator has had the biggest impact on you creatively?

MB: It’s hard to say what goes into making a book when you’re the one who made it, but
now that this one is finished I can see Margaret Wise Brown’s influence, and David
Attenborough’s, too.

SH: For this book, I was thinking a lot about Eric Carle. He introduced me to my first bear,
my first collage, to the Helvetica font (my hand-cut titles are an homage), and to how
much can be communicated through minimalism.

Illustration © 2020 by Shawn Harris

 About the Creators
MAC BARNETT SHAWN HARRIS
is the author of several is an artist and
books for children, musician who began
including Extra Yarn, his career by doing

Photo by Lauren Harris

Photo by Carson Ellis

illustrated by Jon record and poster

Klassen, which won a art for his band the
Caldecott Honor and Matches in 2003. He
a Boston Globe–Horn Book Award; Sam has created art for musicians such as
and Dave Dig a Hole and The Wolf, the Adele, Snoop Dogg, and 311. His first
Duck, and the Mouse, both also illustrated picture book, Her Right Foot, by Dave
by Jon Klassen; and President Taft Is Stuck Eggers, was selected as an Orbis
in the Bath, illustrated by Chris Van Pictus Honor Book. Shawn Harris lives
Dusen. Mac Barnett lives in California. in Morongo Valley, California.

Illustrations © 2020 by Shawn Harris

 More Books by Mac Barnett
illustrated by Isabelle Arsenault
HC: 978-0-7636-9680-1 • $17.99 ($21.99 CAN)
Ages 4–8 • 40 pages
★ “A charming celebration of bedtime
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book also underscores the importance of
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—School Library Journal (starred review)
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HC: 978-0-7636-9603-0 • $15.99 ($21.99 CAN)
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illustrated by Jon Klassen HC: 978-0-7636-6229-5 • $16.99 ($22.99 CAN)
HC: 978-0-7636-7754-1 • $17.99 ($22.99 CAN) Ages 4–8 • 40 pages
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“Very funny, with [a] morbid sense of —The Horn Book (starred review)
humor that will hit Halloween sweet spots. . . .
It turns out the wolf’s gut harbors the best
party in town, and some readers’ sympathies
might shift toward the carnivore—aided by
the great Jon Klassen’s droll paintings.”
—The New York Times Book Review
illustrated by Jon Klassen
HC: 978-0-7636-9607-8 • $15.99 ($21.99 CAN)
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★ “Square’s efforts to please are equal parts
hilarious and cringeworthy, and the
moment he topples over in exhaustion is
comic gold. The story’s decidedly
ambiguous conclusion leaves the door open
for questions about what it means to be an
artist—and that’s the whole point.”
illustrated by Jon Klassen —Publishers Weekly (starred review)
HC: 978-0-7636-9608-5 • $15.99 ($21.99 CAN)
Ages 5–9 • 48 pages
“Barnett’s subtle, witty text pokes gentle fun
at the friends’ foibles and fears in a way sure to
appeal to children in the target age group.”
—The Buffalo News
Illustration © 2018 by Jon Klassen