The Polar Bear and the Ballerina

When dancers have a photoshoot at the Central Park Zoo, a young, African American ballerina and a polar bear form a special friendship. When his new friend leaves her scarf behind, the polar bear must venture through Central Park and out into Manhattan to return it before her performance at the Lincoln Center. However, the theater goers eye the strange bear with suspicion. When the ushers won’t let him inside, the ballerina comes to his rescue and welcomes him in. The polar bear has dreamed of seeing the ballet, and now he gets to be a part of it in the most surprising way.

The wordless narrative is told through expressive and detailed oil paintings. On the endpapers, readers learn more about these loveable characters with illustrations of zoo signage about polar bears and a magazine article about the young ballerina.