Nikolai, the Only Bear

My husband and I love reading this story to our daughter. She is two and we are just starting to share her connection with Russia (she is adopted). The pictures are not bright and colorful- but she likes to look at all the faces. She growls when Nikolai does and is engaged from start to finish. Beautiful story!

This gentle story is one of my favorites. I share studio space with the grandma of a little boy who's adopted from this children's home, then referred to as Orphanage Number One (It's nice that the name has changed, isn't it? When I wrote the story, it was called Orphange Number One. Children's Home is certainly a kinder expression). Luckily, the little boy's family had videos of the children's home, which I studied before I wrote the story. His grandma and parents told me many of the details of the home, including the surprising children/caregiver ratio, which I included in the story. While these are accurate details, they also suited the story I wanted to tell. I wanted to tell a story about belonging, not about rescuing. If I'd depicted the home in a dark light (though sadly accurate in many places), then it would have been a story about rescuing. I wanted Nikolai to have a quiet dignity. If no one understood him, it was wasn't because he was naughty or unappealing, it was because none of the "keepers" spoke bear! In the story, "Many orphans come and go. Nikolai stays. He has not found a family." Nikolai doesn't feel sorry for himself, he just continues on in his bearish ways. Then, one winter day, a fur-faced man comes along who understands Bear. Later, he brings his wife who has "moonlight hair and lake water eyes." When Nikolai claws the air, she claws, too, then holds Nikolai's paw in hers. Nikolai understands that these are visitors are like him, bearish, and he belongs with them. It is the quiet certainty of belonging that help children understand--whether birth children or adopted--that they have a home, that they will always have a home--because this is their family.

I've read critical reviews of this book, based upon the fact that it features a bear, and uses the words "orphans" and "orphanages." I respectfully disagree. I am a youth services librarian and a children's programmer. In all the storytimes I've ever done, I've never had a toddler or preschooler fail to identify with a well-written Picture Book, just because it featured an animal as its protagonist. In the same way that children often cuddle up with their stuffed animals at bedtime, they tend respond well to animals as main characters in Picture Books. Nikolai the bear feels different from the other orphans. The staff don't speak his language. His games are perceived as too wild and rough by staff members. They seem unable to communicate with him or understand his motivations. What I loved about Nikolai's adoptive parents was how, from the moment they came to retrieve him at the orphanage (yes, I said that word), they made every effort to connect with him. If he growled, they growled back. When he clawed the air, his adoptive mother reflected that gesture back to him. They weren't afraid to take his hand (um, paw) in theirs and express pride and joy in his accomplishments. Because of their acceptance and approachability, Nikolai begins to trust them. Read this story. It is lovely, it is tender, it is magnificent. It is beautiful. PS - I should mention that I am a former foster child. Call it by any euphemism that you choose... the experience is still the same. I am still waiting for a book about foster care that I can read aloud to children, besides perhaps "A Mother for Choco." I wish every child's experience in foster care had the happy ending experienced by Nikolai in this story. I hope that someday a book will be written that can be read aloud to young children; one that touches on the subject of foster care in such an emotionally perceptive way.

This is a great book. Don't let the negative reviews bother you. My daughter came from this very same orphanage. I met the "keepers" in the book. They chief doctor and the music teacher actually resemble the picture! The orphange was immaculate and very close to the pictures in the book. I am sending 3 copies back to Novosibirsk, Siberia, Russia to Baby Home #1 (which is the actually location), for them to autograph it and keep 2 copies. When we asked them about the book, they had no idea about it, but were very excited. Anyway, the book is wonderful. The children do not have the comprehension to be bothered by the nit-picky issues mentioned above. If you are adopting, especially from Russia, get the book.

As a children's librarian and the mother of a 7 year old daugher adopted from Russia (at five years old) I became teary eyed as I read this book. What stuck me was the fact that the author really took the time to research the setting and activities! Including the type of trees that grow in the area. I knew that she must have had first hand knowledge about the subject. The jacket of the book confirmed my thinking. I am always looking for books to read to my daughter that are non-threatening. The main character as a bear accomplishes just that! Thanks