Cover Image: Joe's New World

Joe's New World

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Member Reviews

The original Mister P book was a wonderful thing, featuring a polar bear that moved in with a lad to help him see through the problems he has with his autistic brother. Here we start afresh, with Mister P arriving in quite hilarious fashion with a new child to look after – this time, a wheelchair user whose family has emigrated for work, and who is homesick as soon as he's on the plane. The series clearly is strong on featuring the under-represented, but what's more important is the way it deals with issues with such empathy – but what's even more important still is the way it is just so warmly (if obviously) entertaining. You don't have to be buying this for someone with the similar issues as the young hero, for any time spent with Mister P is well worth it – except, the book is too much about the lad and his dad, with the mother hardly even featuring in the illustrations when she does get a scene. The all-inclusive aspect loses a mark, then, for girls might not quite get to gel with the japes presented here.

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Rating- 4.5 stars
When I chose this book, I was looking forward to a really warm and light book to read just for relaxation. The cover of this book is a really cute one and immediately attracted my eye. From the cover you can tell that the story is about a polar bear and a differently abled boy.

So coming to the plot of the book, the story revolves around this kid named Joe, he is travelling to another country (the name not specified in the text) because of his dad's transfer for 5 years. So he faces the challenge of starting new. This situation might have been appealing to some, even to his friends, but when someone really loves their old place, moving is only hurtful and settling to a new place, a challenge.
When he gets down from the plane and goes on to collect hos luggage with his parents, his luggage seems to be lost and its not a really great start in a new place. On top of that there is a polar bear with his own luggage and with Joe's address on the suitcase. So after talking with officials, the bear is given to be under the custody of Joe and his family. Joe usually loves joking around and is a fun person, but all this is overwhelming him and saddens him. The whole story then goes on about how the polar bear, named Mr. P. becomes a companion and helps the kid settle in the new space.

The pro is that the book was full of beautiful illustrations, though it was a children's book, but even as an adult, I felt it as heart warming and cute. The author's writing style is engaging.

The con- lack of details but given the details weren't that essential, it can be coped with.

Will totally recommend it if you are looking for a happy, cute, feel good read that speaks about friendship and facing challenges.

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This book is an adorable journey of a young boy whose family relocates to a new country for dad’s job. Joe struggles with the thought of making new friends and starting all over. The family gets an unexpected surprise when a friendly polar bear accompanies them home their first day. The bear ends up being the perfect ambassador for Joe and eases his transition to his new home and school until he is ready to thrive on his own.
This book subtly works in a few themes that are great for kids to learn about: making friendships, moving, accessibility awareness, emergency preparedness, keeping in touch with friends, among others.

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