The Adventures of Captain Polo Book 4: Pole to Pole follows a sailing polar bear who returns home to the Arctic, only to find the shrinking sea ice has made food scarce, and now must go on an adventure to find a meal. Where did the idea for this story come from?

I knew I wanted to write another maritime journey and I planned a route reflecting some research I had done on examples of climate change problems and solutions in different latitudes. I needed to tie this in with some kind of story about Penguin wanting to return to his native Antarctica. It all came together with the very real truth that polar bears are increasingly affected by melting pack ice impeding their hunting behavior, thus justifying Polo’s decision to sail just a little to the south (he never intended to go much beyond the Arctic circle). The idea of making Penguin a stowaway and manipulating Polo’s course came at the last minute; I gambled that adding that element of mystery would enrich the story and provide some opportunities for humor, and of course, Penguin’s meddling with the rudder enables the story to unfold southwards as I had originally wanted.

What were some ideas that were important for you to personify in your characters?

Captain Polo always needs to balance his new-found mission as climate messenger and action emissary to better understand climate change with the fact that he is still a bear who needs to eat. I always try therefore to find ways to strike this balance between a Tintin-like adventurer and reporter and a Paddington-like bear who likes his creature comforts.

Penguin is a new character who we only glimpsed at the end of Book 3, so this book is really his debut as Polo’s side-kick. Many heroes have side-kicks and Penguin is Polo’s – often involuntarily. Penguin’s character is complex in that he never speaks (he can’t, unlike Polo) and the reader is therefore left to guess at what he is thinking and feeling. Penguin is loyal, but he is also something of a street-wise rascal: he can do un-penguinly things like pick locks, wield knives, and roller skate, as we find out in Pole to Pole. This makes him entertaining, and he has no role at all connected to the educational component of the story. If anything he is entirely oblivious to Polo’s mission and his chief priority is to get back to Antarctica by any means possible. Using subterfuge to do this comes as second nature to him.

Another semi-new character we get to explore properly in Pole to Pole is Conor O’ Connor, the fiery red-headed and red-bearded, slightly crazy fishing captain who lost his cap (and his rowing boat) to Polo in Book 1. Conor represents absurd entertainment much like Wile E. Coyote and Sammity Sam in the popular Loony Tunes cartoons. Physically and emotionally, Conor is modeled on a close colleague I had at work once. In order to understand this character you need to understand that Conor has a peculiar attachment to the cap worn by Polo, which was his cap, as readers of Book 1 will remember. The cap was a legacy from Conor’s grandfather and he will go to any lengths to get it back. As far as Polo is concerned the cap is his because he ‘found it’ floating in the sea, which of course is technically correct. Conor’s obsession puts him in prime positions for zany, slapstick humor, again modeled on Wile E. Coyote, who goes to extraordinarily creative lengths to catch the roadrunner, and always fails, yet never gives up. Like Penguin, Conor has no bearing at all on the educational content but is a powerful element of the entertainment requirement.

Lastly, a totally new character is Tex Greedyman, the oil tycoon. As his name implies, this character is an expression of utter caricature: I let myself go with the stereotype of a Texan oilman (think Dallas) who is filthy rich, utterly self-obsessed, and deaf and blind to any agenda other than his own, which is to keep on getting richer by dealing in fossil fuels. I created Tex during the Trump presidency, and Tex is partly modeled on this person, the only content that is even remotely political in the book. Going back to heedless caricature and fun, Tex is predictably bejewelled and hairy chested, cigar toting and scotch on the rocks always in hand. I know the cigar and whisky (not to mention the gun) may risk offending certain adult readers who firmly believe graphic novels for children should be squeaky clean, but in all honesty, I chose to take this risk for the sake of good storytelling, entertainment, and to make a strong point concerning the top priority climate action, which is to stop fossil fuels filling up the atmosphere with greenhouse gases. Life, moreover, is not squeaky clean and kids at the ages I aim for (Middle Grade) know this. Tex predictably owns a multi-million dollar yacht, wears designer-cut yachtsman’s clothes, and treats his (highly paid) staff abominably. This makes Tex someone who my readers will hopefully love to hate; he is the villain of the story. Tex obviously personifies the fossil fuel world we desperately need to wean ourselves off from, and as such he represents the retrograde darkness opposing Polo’s progressive light. Where Polo represents a future better world, Tex represents business as usual. This is important because – spoiler alert – in forthcoming volumes Tex will undergo an epiphany, showing that change is always possible.

Are you a fan of the graphic novels? What books do you think most influenced your work?

I am a fan but very selectively so: my work is most influenced specifically by the European comic book style made famous globally by Tintin, and Asterix. There is also some influence from Lucky Luke in the same tradition. Other artists who have influenced me include post-WWII cartoonist Carl Giles, and the way I sometimes draw boots is influenced directly by Spy vs Spy from Mad Magazine.

Do you have more stories planned for Captain Polo? If so, what can your fans expect in the next book?

I am currently in the final phase of creating the sequel to Pole to Pole, Book 5 in the series titled Polo in Brazil. This book is dedicated to the challenges and also solutions that exist in Brazil, on a broad environmental level as well as for climate change. This story takes the entertainment factor even further than Pole to Pole, and readers can expect further exploits not just by Polo and Penguin, but also Conor and Tex. The reason it is focused on Brazil is because at the end of Pole to Pole our heroes escape Tex’s yacht, which happens to be located in the middle of the Atlantic not too far from the coast of northern Brazil. The plan is to continue to the Antarctic, but Polo finds a reason to stop over in Brazil, much to Penguin’s frustration!

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Driven from his melting Arctic home in search of food, Captain Polo once again takes to the ocean in his trusty boat. Little does he know about a hidden stowaway with a secret agenda…

Picking up from the previous books in the series, Pole to Pole sees the now well-seasoned globetrotter Captain Polo back on the ocean waves falling into one adventure after another. After nearly getting flattened by an oil tanker in a melting Arctic sea, Polo explores Siberia and Scandinavia, saves the crew of a nuclear submarine and breaks into a mysterious energy plant in Iceland before getting dragged south to the coast of West Africa by powerful Atlantic Ocean currents. Along the way he meets a variety of colourful characters ranging from a disgruntled Santa Claus to arch-villain Tex Greedyman the oil tycoon, only to finally unmask his secret stowaway when it’s too late to turn back.

Book 4 of this series of climate change books for kids takes Captain Polo on another rollicking, funny global journey that uncovers ever more important aspects of global warming, and importantly, also the many ways we can all become part of the solution. The book includes a handy glossary referencing some of the more technical terms encountered in the story and as such makes an ideal educational resource at home and in the classroom.

Will Captain Polo and his mysterious stowaway make it all the way to the South Pole?

Get your copy of Pole to Pole to find out!