Big and Little Meet in the Middle is a picture book for young audiences about an unlikely friendship that spans the American continents. With the help of a wonderful assortment of animals and people along the way, Big and Little learn a bit more about the world outside of their frosty homes, hoping all the while that they’ll be able to find each other somewhere in “the middle.”

Introduced by the globe-traveling arctic tern, Big the Polar bear and a Penguin named Little set off across North and South America to meet each other in person. Along the way they encounter new and interesting people and animals who help steer them towards, “the middle.” Big and Little Meet in the Middle introduces young readers to the wonders of all that lies between the two ice caps at the North and South poles. Often mistakenly pictured in the same place, the Polar Bear and Penguin come from very different ends of the earth, but are under similar stresses brought on by a changing climate.

This picture book just might give all readers, young and old, a better sense of the geography of the Americas, the Antarctica and the Arctic, and raise some awareness of the plight of these two polar friends.