The Bear Essentials: Folktales of Polar Bears and Their Cousins

White-Bear King Valemon
Theodor Kittelson, 1857-1914

February 27 is Polar Bear Day and folktales from Iceland to Norway, Russia and Germany, folktales, fairy tales, myths and legends stories of polar bears and their cousins abound.  I offer some stories, curriculum, information, crafts and more about these beautiful, majestic animals.

SOME POLAR BEAR FACTS

* At birth, polar bear cubs are 12 to 14 inches long and weigh around one pound.

* Polar bears, also known as Maritime Bears, are the largest land carnivores in the world.

* Polar bears are marine mammals, and spend much of their time on Arctic sea ice. 

* Polar bears are strong swimmers, and individual have been seen in open Arctic waters as far as 200 miles from land. Their front feet are large, flat and  oar-like, making them excellent swimmers.

* The World Conservation Union estimates that there are between 20,000-25,000 polar in the world.

The above information was found at: http://www.defenders.org/polar-bear/basic-facts .

STORIES

Audun and the Bear – Iceland

https://www.storiestogrowby.org/story/audun-the-bear/   

The Bear – From The Grey Fairy Book by Andrew Lang

http://www.classicreader.com/book/2190/23/

Bearskin – Germany
http://www.pitt.edu/~dash/grimm101.html

The Bear and the Fox - Norway

https://norwegianfolktales.blogspot.com/2018/02/the-bear-and-fox.html 

The Bear Trainer and His Cat
http://www.pitt.edu/~dash/type1161.html

East of the Sun, West of the Moon - Norway

http://www.pitt.edu/~dash/norway034.html

The Fisherman and the Bear – Maine, USA

http://www.americanfolklore.net/folklore/2010/10/the_fisherman_and_the_bear.html

King of the Polar Bears by L. Frank Baum

https://americanliterature.com/author/l-frank-baum/short-story/the-king-of-the-polar-bears

King Valemon, the White Bear - Norway

https://thornews.com/2013/03/20/norwegian-fairy-tales-white-bear-king-valemon/

The Magic Bear – Native American/Inuit

http://learningtogive.org/materials/folktales/MagicBear.asp

Masha and the Bear – Russia
http://russian-crafts.com/russian-folk-tales/masha-bear-tale.html

The Story of the Three Bears - England

http://www.authorama.com/english-fairy-tales-20.html

The Willow Wren and the Bear - Germany

http://www.authorama.com/grimms-fairy-tales-11.html

The Woman and Her Bear – Inuit
http://www.firstpeople.us/FP-Html-Legends/TheWomanAndHerBear-Eskimo.html

The Woman Who Had A Bear As A Foster Son - Inuit

http://www.sacred-texts.com/nam/inu/eft/eft10.htm

Why the Bear is Stumpy Tailed - Norway

http://americanfolklore.net/folklore/2010/10/the_fisherman_and_the_bear.html

BOOKS

The Children’s Book Review – Kids Winter Books: Snow Mitten, Polar Bears and Other Artic Animals

http://www.thechildrensbookreview.com/weblog/2010/01/kids-winter-books-snow-mittens-polar-bears-and-other-artic-animals.html

CURRICULUM                                                

10 Polar Bear Facts: PreK and K

http://www.brighthubeducation.com/pre-k-and-k-lesson-plans/58147-polar-bear-facts-lesson-plan/

Education World – Why Polar Bears Are White. Science and Art for grades K – 2.

http://www.educationworld.com/a_tsl/archives/00-1/lesson0002.shtml

National Parks Service – Bear Essentials – Lesson plans using the folktale, Why the Bear Is Stumpy Tailed

https://www.nps.gov/common/uploads/teachers/lessonplans/Bear-Essentials-4th-Grade-Post-visit%20activity%202.pdf

Polar Bear International – A variety of information on polar bears, including scientific studies habitats and more.
https://polarbearsinternational.org/

CRAFTS

DLTK-Kids - Polar Bear Crafts and Activities

http://www.dltk-kids.com/animals/polar-bears.htm

Theme Station – Polar bear art, activities, games, recipies and more.
http://www.preschoolexpress.com/theme-station12/polar-bears-january.shtml

Twiggle Magazine - Polar Bear Puppet
http://twigglemagazine.com/January-activities/polar-bear-craft.html

SOMETHING EXTRA

Bars and Hibernation: Fun for the Little Ones – Fingerplays, songs and more.

https://karenchace.blogspot.com/2015/11/bears-and-hibernation-fun-for-little.html

Please note, websites change at a rapid pace and weblinks may change or break without notice. I cannot be responsible for redirected or broken links.  At the time of this posting all links were in working order. Thank you for understanding.

Karen Chace 2015 ©

This blog post was researched and compiled by Karen Chace. Permission for private use is granted. Distribution, either electronically or on paper is prohibited without my expressed written permission. For permission please contact me at storybug@aol.com. Of course, if you wish to link to my blog via your website, blog, newsletter, Facebook page or Twitter please feel free to do so; I greatly appreciate your support and personal integrity.