Lily and the Polar Bears

One day, Lily is playing on the beach when she notices lots of polar bears floating on melting ice on the sea. When they reach the shore, they confess that because the ice has melted, they have nowhere to live. Fortunately, Lily has an idea of where they can go and welcomes them into her house, where a surprised but resourceful Mum gives them all fish fingers and chips for tea.

Yet when Lily takes the polar bears into the town the next day, not everyone is as thrilled to see them – and, in fact, some people are quite mean. Yet, over time, the polar bears all get jobs and become builders, teachers, postmen, singers, dancers and footballers, and are happy to have found a new home.

This charming, funny, sweet picture book combines concerns about arctic erosion, animal conservation and immigration in a lovely story about polar bears. It’s an impressive debut from Sheibani, and sure to be a favourite with little ones that will love her illustration.