Svalbard is the home of the armored polar bears in Philip Pullman's "His Dark Materials" trilogy of books. This trilogy of fantasy novels form an epic that includes "Northern Lights" (1995, published as "The Golden Compass" in North America), "The Subtle Knife" (1997), and "The Amber Spyglass" (2000). It follows the story of two children, Lyra Belacqua and Will Parry. The three novels have won awards, including the 2001 Whitbread Book of the Year prize, won by "The Amber Spyglass". "Northern Lights" won the Carnegie Medal for children's fiction in the UK in 1995. The won third place in the BBC's Big Read poll in 2003. The story involves fantasy story parts such as witches and armoured polar bears.