Reviews: (by author)

Hehner, Barbara. Ice Age Cave Bear. Illus. Mark Hallett. New York: Crown, 2002. ISBN 0-375-81329-2. $16.95.

This now extinct mammal, the enormous, overpowering cave bear, is the latest subject in a fine series by collaborators Hehner and Hallett, the other books being Ice Age Mammoth and Ice Age Sabertooth. Well-researched, well-written, and well-illustrated, this book provides readers with a comprehensive look at the cave bear, its appearance (scary!), habits, habitat, physiology, evolutionary development and migratory routes, and its skeletal remains, often mistaken in relatively recent times for dragon bones. Hehner and Hallett also show the bears in relation to the Ice Age peoples who lived at the same time. In addition to staying as far as possible out of the bears' way, these peoples also worshipped them, drawing bear pictures on cave walls and stacking their bones in odd ways.

Children will certainly be impressed by these animals as they learn about evolution, extinction, the now-living descendants of Ice Age bears, and the process of scientific inquiry.

My only criticism of the book is that, occasionally, the print is difficult to read as it is placed over pastel or dark colors.

A.A. Nov. '02

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