The Very, Very Far North: A Story for Gentle Readers and Listeners

Dan Bar-El’s animal fantasy, The Very, Very Far North: A Story for Gentle Readers and Listeners, is a fun-filled episodic romp in the snow. Animal fantasy fans aged seven through eleven will enjoy the adventures of Duane, the polar bear.

The linked stories begin when Duane, the polar bear, “lumber[s] into the Very, Very Far North from somewhere else”. When he finds plentiful berries to eat and a beach perfect for napping, he decides to stay. Once he does, he makes one friend after another, and they embark upon harmless adventures while exploring the landscape. As the subtitle indicates, these stories are perfectly suited to “gentle readers and listeners” in terms of content and characters. For those who need a break from today’s grittily realistic children’s books, The Very, Very Far North will make a lovely escape.

However, Bar-El has made the puzzling decision to use an omniscient, intrusive narrator, along with elevated, archaic diction. While these elements certainly do imbue the tales with a cutesy old-fashioned ambience that will appeal to those with a nostalgic bent (and which may elicit snide chuckles from erudite adults reading aloud), they also pull the text out of synch with today’s movement towards more child-centered children’s books. At best, the narrative voice is dated and tiresome—at worst, it is condescending and childish.

The Very, Very Far North will make a lovely gift from adults who long to preserve children’s innocence to the gentle readers and listeners they love.