Polar Boy

Sandy Fussell (author)

Walker Books, Australia: 2008; 200pp

ISBN: 1921150388

Genres: adventure, historical fiction

Issues: culture, differences, environment, family, friendship, identity

CBCA Shortlist, 2009: Book of the Year, Younger Readers

Set in the time when people lived in igloos, hunted with whale-bone spears and wore clothes made from the skins of the beasts they hunted, this is the adventure of a boy and an ice bear.

Iluak's father is a great hunter, as was his grandfather before him. What Iluak hides from everybody except their tribe's shaman, is his fear. The shaman is his grandmother. She talks with the spirits and sees the future.

Iluak doesn't want the future she sees for him - one where he must face the bear and save the tribe, as his grandfather did. Iluak is only thirteen, just a man, and the great white bears of the North terrify him, despite wearing his grandfather's talisman around his neck.

But his fate calls him and Iluak begins to understand that courage is not lack of fear but great fear overcome. With good friends and friendly foes, perhaps he can do what is necessary and be free to follow his heart beyond the endless ice.

A well-researched novel, 'Polar Boy' brings history to life, showing both the hardship of a hunting culture but also the respect they had for their environment and the animals that they hunted. There is a subtle exploration of environmental issues as Iluak's tribe has very strict rules about taking only enough to survive. It also shows the meeting of tribes of different cultures, demonstrating very clearly that survival comes from respecting one another's strengths and working together, sharing the land's resources.