He travels with them from Iran to Italy, and then on to Scotland.

The soldiers raise the bear and eventually enlist him as a soldier to ensure that he stays with the company. Children ages 9 and up will enjoy this unusual, funny, poignant tale, and adults will eat it up! Submitted by Ellen A.Based on a real series of events that happened during World War II, Soldier Bear tells the story of an orphaned bear cub adopted by a group of Polish soldiers in Iran.

He became so popular, even with officers, that he was made the official mascot of his unit - and his caretakers were surprised when one officer had a company seal created, memorializing the day that Voytek helped the soldiers pass artillery shells! Voytek, who was officially declared a private in the army, also picked up a few bad habits from his fellow soldiers, such as drinking beer and smoking cigarettes - although in the latter case, he actually ate the lit cigarettes, preferring them to unlit ones. Voytek provided love, laughs, and practical assistance to his human companions even during the worst of times, while causing them no end of (mostly humorous) headaches. A fictionalized account of true events that occurred in World War II, this is the story of a malnourished Syrian brown bear cub sold by an equally malnourished young boy to a group of Polish soldiers stationed in Iran. The soldiers nursed the bear back to health, and in the process, the bear, which they named Voytek (or in Polish, Wojtek, meaning 'smiling warrior') became their good, if mischievous, friend and mascot. This year, the Batchelder was awarded to a book that has just become one of my own favorites - Soldier Bear, written by Bibi Dumon Tak, illustrated by Philip Hopman, and translated from the original Dutch by Laura Watkinson. Batchelder award is given each year by the ALA's Association for Library Service to Children '.to the most outstanding children's book originally published in a language other than English in a country other than the United States, and subsequently translated into English for publication in the United States.' We librarian types tend to pay a lot of attention to award-winning books, although we can't deny we're often a little disappointed when our personal favorites don't win. The Mildred L. Reserve a Meeting Room or Gallery Space.Volunteers in Tutoring Adult Learners (VITAL).Community Access Television Services (CATS).

Soldier Bear by Bibi Dumon Tak