The Big Fuzzy

The Big Fuzzy

Author: Caroline Castle

Illustrated: Daniel Howarth

Copyright: 2007

Published by:  QEB Publishing Inc.

Number of Pages:  24

Genre:  Multicultural Picture Book

            One of my friends gave me this book as a gift.  This book is about a family that lives in Greenland.  They are Inuit People.  They live in an igloo.  The main character in this book is a little girl named Sira.  Her mother is sick so she is to go fishing.  She has to take her little brother Ivik with her.  He is very young and Sira carries him on her back.  Ivik sleeps most of the time.  Sira begins ice fishing.  She catches a fish.  Ivik wakes up and discovers a polar bear which he calls “Big Fuzzy”.  Sira does not notice the bear.  Ivik ends up feeding the fish to the bear.  A blizzard comes and they get lost in the storm.  Sira has no idea what has happened to the fish.  They end up in a cave and quickly fall asleep.   Big Fuzzy ends up carrying Sira and Ivik home and he leaves them a fish to eat.

            The illustrations in this red are rendered in watercolors.  The colors in this book are cool colors.  The background in this story is primarily done in shades of blue.  The characters in this book are done in bright colors that depict the cultural of the Inuit people.  The illustrations in this book are done in double page spreads to give great detail.  The text placement is informal. 

            This book would be appropriate for children age 4 to about 8 years old.  I would use this book to teach the children about Greenland.  I would also use this book to teach about the Inuit people.   I would also use this book to reach about polar bears and also winter weather.  This book has not won any awards or honors.