Soldier Bear

Author: Bibi Dumon Tak

Illustrator: Philip Hopman

Published: In 2008 by Eerdmans Books for Young Readers

ISBN: 978-0802853752

 

Synopsis: 

Baby Voytek probably drinking milk from a Vodka bottle 

      This Batchelder Award winning book, is based on the curious and almost unbelievable true story of a Syrian brown bear named Voytek, who has a nose for adventures, loves luxuriously long showers and, believe it or not, was enlisted as a Private in the Polish Army during World War II!  He was found by his five human friends (Peter, Stanislav, Lolek, Janusz and Pavel) in the middle of the Iranian desert, when they were transporting a load of equipment to Palestine for the British Army.  As a tiny bear cub, Voytek instantly stole the men's hearts.  He was a ray of light who brought smiles and hope to many soliders during a time of great angish and desolation, when all of Europe was in the throws of war.  Soldier Bear is a delightful and uplifting story you can loose yourself in.  It's one of those you may read only once but will never forget.    

  

 

My Reaction: 

Emblem of the Transport Company of the 2nd Polish Corps

      I've struggled to find the words to  accurately describe how I feel about this book.  The characters and events are so endearing and unbelievable that it makes me want to share their entire story with people.  I mean, how often do you hear about a bear who was enlisted as an actual solider in the army?  You don't!  Which is why it's so difficult for me to decide what I want to share about Soldier Bear.  Truth be told, I don't really want to talk about the writing in the book at all.  There is nothing particularly notable about the literary style or plot development of the book.  What is remarkable, is content of the story itself.  Soldier Bear is an unusual historical fiction book because it largely focuses on the life and relationships of an animal.  This fact makes it very easy for people to mistakenly dismiss Voytek's life as a piece of fanciful fiction.  A narrative like Soldier Bear, really requires the author to convince their audience of the story's factual nature ahead of time, before they even begin reading the book.  In many cases the best way to do this, is by sharing primary source material with the audience. 

Voytek as a full grown bear

     Luckily, Bibi Dumon Tak was able to include a few reprinted photographs of Voytek at the back of the book.  For readers this is definitely a good starting point.  Unfortunately, I was unsatisfied with the limited collection of photos she provided.  I needed to know more about this bear who had stolen my heart as I read.  Fortunately, the internet provides many venues in which to do this.  I really wish more tangible evidence had been provided in the book itself, because the epic and full experience of the story comes from appreciating and embracing it's historical truth.

My Rating (1-5 stars):

 

Still Curious: 

You can see actual footage of Voytek the bear when you watch the following clip:

The following video clip is an excerpt form The One Show which discusses Voytek's life :

 

Learn how to pronounce two of the characters names (I'm working on trying to find links for the other characters):

Stanislav

Janusz