Waluk

(Paperback)

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Global warming's catastrophic effect on polar bear habitats has been a powerful image in the media., Combines engaging, funny story with factual information., Explains the environmental effects of climate change and pollution through sympathetic and relatable characters.

Waluk, a young polar bear, wakes to find his mother has left him alone in their icy den. This is the way of polar bears, and now he must fend for himself. But he doesn't know much about the world. While the other bears raid tourists' luggage and beg for sardines at a research base, Manitok, a cranky old bear with missing teeth and a bad sense of smell, teaches Waluk about seals, foxes, changing seasons, and-when Manitok is caught in a trap-human beings. The humans, who think they're acting humanely, plan to put him down, but Waluk rallies the other bumbling polar bears on a rescue mission. Waluk and his mentor go on to spend many years together roaming the tundra, until Waluk grows into such a wise, powerful bear that he becomes part of ursine legends. An afterword by the author discusses animal habitats and environmental issues.

Reviews

Marrying exemplary sequential storytelling, mythology, and science and enhanced through respectful anthropomorphizing, Waluk takes readers into a realistic world of polar bears endangered by climate change. Waluk, a young, motherless cub, joins old and grizzled Manitok, who guides the little bear through an ever-shrinking habitat with dwindling food. It also doesn't hurt that Waluk is a nimbler hunter, if a little more impatient, than Manitok. Miralles' colorful, detailed art covers a wide territory, from the sweet, mismatched companions and their occasionally blood-tinged meals to the garment-bundled humans who pass into their territory; from Waluk's vision of Nanook, the polar-bear deity, in the aurora borealis to the wise bear council that gathers to rescue Manitok from captivity. Meanwhile, Ruiz manages to write a story halfway between fact and fable, with a touching emotional element and meaningful information about global climate change. Like Brian K. Vaughan's Pride of Baghdad (2006) and Rachel Hope Allison's I'm Not a Plastic Bag (2012), this is a beautifully told tale of the impact humans have on wildlife and the environment. --Booklist

This exceptional English-language debut for the author/artist team of Ruiz and Miralles will make readers hope more translations are underway. The basic plot of their Arctic tale is familiar--two outcasts find they can survive when they cooperate--but the two are polar bears, not humans, and their fates are linked to the circumstances of climate change. Miralles resists romanticizing the Arctic landscape; her honest documentation of the scars humans have left on the land--trash, fences, highways--is especially moving. Waluk is a cub just abandoned by his mother, while Manitok is an ancient bear close to the end of his life, with few teeth and little speed left. Their efforts to hunt enough protein to feed themselves draws them together, and the drama that unfolds when Manitok is captured by scientists helps Waluk become a leader. Heartbreaking moments ('I saw how the humans had taken the skin off my mother and sister... as if they were seals') are never overplayed, and humor always leavens the sadness. Suggestions of a polar bear spiritual world add yet another layer of interest. --starred, Publishers Weekly

A glimpse into the life of a young polar bear and its struggle to survive within a rapidly changing landscape.

Abandoned by his mother, Waluk is left to fend--and hunt--for himself. After a time trying to subsist on easily attainable duck eggs, he meets Manitok, an old bear who was once a great hunter but now suffers from a poor sense of smell and missing fangs. The pair quickly bond, and Manitok helps Waluk become a more adroit hunter. However, with food in short supply due to the warming Arctic, the bears find themselves in a garbage dump, where Manitok unwittingly stumbles into a bear trap. Against all odds, young Waluk rallies the other bears to help rescue his imprisoned friend. Miralles' bears are disarmingly adorable, and Ruiz gives them humanlike personalities, making them easy for kids to relate to. Despite the rampant ursine cuddliness, this is not a fluffy, sweet tale; these bears must fight to survive in a changing world, and their struggle viscerally brings home the seemingly faraway effects of climate change. Ruiz's afterword helps tie in many of the main issues and offers readers a smattering of websites for further research.

Cute meets socially conscious, leaving an indelible impression upon readers. --Kirkus Reviews

Ruiz, Emilio. Waluk, Illus. by Ana Miralles.

Successfully combining science, sequential storytelling, and respectful anthropomorphizing, Ruiz chronicles a fictional orphaned polar bear cub and the cranky older bear that helps him survive in their compromised habitat. An author note clarifies the science pertaining to this endangered mammal.

This large-format graphic novel looks at climate change through the eyes of a young polar bear. After his mother disappears, Waluk must fend for himself, searching the tundra for food. He soon comes into contact with Manitok, a wise and once-strong polar bear past his prime. The two form a bond as the elder bear assumes a mentor role. Looking for food, they venture to a garbage dump, where Manitok is captured. The protagonist then rallies the other polar bears to rescue their friend. Waluk provides a glimpse into the often tenuous relationship between polar bears and humans, and the topic of climate change is well integrated into the story. Back matter includes a note that provides insight into the current state of this species. The full-color illustrations are crisp and appealing, capturing moments of comedy and drama with equal skill. With a unique perspective on a controversial topic, this is a graphic novel that stands out. --School Library Journal

Author Bio

Emilio Ruiz was born in Spain in 1960, received a Bachelor of Fine Arts from the Polytechnic University of Valencia, and began a career as a photographer in 1982. He started in the world of advertising, then moved on to designing scenery for theater and dance productions and to work as a designer on a documentary series. He has collaborated with Ana Miralles on several graphic
novels: El brillo de una mirada (Gasset, 1990), the trilogy En busca def unicornio (Glenat, 1996- 1999), and De mano en mano (De Ponent, 2009). Ana Miralles and Emilio Ruiz are currently working together on the four-part series Muraqqa, the story of a woman artist in the court of the Mughal king Jahangir in the early seventeenth century.

Ana Miralles, born in Madrid in 1959, has been a professional comics and magazine illustrator since 1982. Her work has been published in prominent periodicals including Marie-Claire and Vogue, and in a broad array of children's books, posters, book covers, albums, and advertising, not to mention her work in the theater and cinema as costume designer, backdrop artist, and storyboarder. She has illustrated graphic novels for both the Spanish and French markets, including Marruecos, mon amour and the Eva Medusa trilogy (Glenat), several collaborations with Emilio Ruiz, and 13 volumes in the Djinn series (Norma). She received the Grand Prize of the Salon de Barcelona 2009 in recognition of her long career in the world of comics.