In this polar bear version of King Lear, Anook is the Cordelia figure, exiled from her royal father's home when her sisters' scheming leaves her nothing to offer as a tribute other than "I... I... I love you, Father." Unlike her Shakespearean counterpart, however, the banished Anook is befriended by a wolf pack that helps her triumph over her usurping siblings and win the crown from her grateful father: "And, of course, Anook was a good and wise queen, who brought peace and happiness to Northland." Wilhelm (All for the Best!) devotes nearly one-third of his book to a wordy set-up of the circumstances leading to Anook's banishment, and it's not until the cub finds herself alone in a snow-covered landscape (with "no more strength to run, and no more tears to cry") that his storytelling and watercolors pick up steam. After Anook shields a wolf pup who is also lost in the blizzard, the pup's fellow pack members express their gratitude by taking in the ursine heroine. Wilhelm wallpapers the page opposite the furry princess with the intent gazes of the grateful wolves: "One hundred pairs of eyes were watching her, one hundred pairs of ears were listening to her story." When Anook and her humiliated father are reunited at last, their portraits lose the teddy-bear mien from the early pages and take on genuine emotional and physical strength. Ages 4-7. (Sept.)
