GOD GAVE US YOU

In an earnest, youthful voice, narrator Kim Mai Guest portrays a polar bear cub who asks questions about his origins. In a gently authoritative voice, Guest also portrays his mother, who shares the wonders of development and birth. The overall warmth in Guest’s voice will be reassuring to young listeners. In the give-and-take between mother and child, Bergren’s story shares just enough information—the parents’ excitement, the wishes for good health, the long waiting, the nursery preparation, the joy and tears at arrival—and also allays the young cub’s fears about not being the right child for his parents. Bergren’s repeated phrase “because God gave us you” is a hallmark of the story. A.R. © AudioFile 2012, Portland, Maine [Published: JANUARY 2012]