The Book of Snow (Flurry the Bear Book 4) by J.S. Skye is part of a series of children’s adventure stories about a bear who lives with humans so he can learn humility and life lessons. After defeating the evil panda bear Jack Frost, Flurry returns home to his human parents and fellow stuffed animals, carrying a magical book. When Flurry and the cranky, inarticulate rabbit Honja are sucked into the book, they find themselves in the past. Jack Frost’s menacing reign of terror is in full swing. The outcast kick-butt Nikolas Kringle is a long way from being kindly old Santa. And if Flurry and Honja can’t rescue the majestic red panda warrior, Tomodachi, all the panda warriors will be wiped out and Jack Frost’s reign will be eternal.

A thoroughly enjoyable adventure tale. With a bumbling, self-centered protagonist who creates plenty of comedy in the midst of an epic adventure, and a well-structured, authentic Asian feel, The Book of Snow has a little of Kung Fu Panda and a lot of The Hobbit—an exciting story to be read for the sheer fun of it. J.S. Skye keeps the story running briskly and manages each character so they are developed in a minimal amount of time, but still have a strong emotional connection to the reader. I cheered for overconfident Flurry, even when he got on my nerves (which was often!), and sour little Honja, who could only speak his own language, was a great balance for him as they plowed through an action-packed ride. An excellent fantasy novel and a great story for young and old alike.

The Book of Snow by J.S. Skye is book 4 in an ongoing series about a teddy bear cub named Flurry, who is alive and part of a group of plush toy animals that have been adopted by a human couple. Flurry the bear has all the innocence and precociousness one would expect from a child. He also has a knack for getting himself into troublesome situations as he allows his curiosity to get the better of him at times. He is drawn toward a magical book in this story that pulls him and his rabbit friend, Honja, into a magical land from thousands of years ago. There he meets talking raccoons, warrior pandas, and devious foxes. Flurry has a positive nature that seeks the good in everyone. This leads him to become the catalyst that encourages magical Kris Kringle and his red panda warriors to finally confront the dark forces of Jack Frost, who holds the land captive beneath his oppressive power.

This was my first experience with Flurry the bear, so I wasn’t sure what to expect. The Book of Snow by J.S. Skye starts off as a cute story about talking plush toys who are having trouble playing together without arguing. But then everything changes when Flurry and Honja get whisked away into the magical realm of Kunteris. From that point on, it’s a story of good warriors versus bad warriors with our lovable main characters stuck in the middle. There is a certain intensity to the story that I didn’t expect in a tale that seems to be aimed at younger readers. The good characters are brave, fearless and full of honor. The bad characters are ruthless and evil. Parents beware, there are battle scenes in this story where characters die, although the deaths are mentioned briefly without any gore or blood.

I found the mix of cute and cuddly animals with the epic battle between good and evil to be a lot of fun. The target audience of this book seems to be boys age 5 to 10, depending on the parent’s comfort level with all of the storybook violence that is included. To me, it felt like a Lord of the Rings kind of story with its main character being a teddy bear rather than a hobbit. For parents who would like to read that type of story to their kids at bedtime, Flurry the bear is a fresh and exciting character who will most likely stir their child’s imagination in a good way. There is also a strong enough plot and characters who are likable enough that most parents will find themselves enjoying the story just as much as their kids.