Customer Reviews

Bear-ly There

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The pictures in this book were beautiful. My children (age 3) really enjoyed looking at the photos and talking about what was going on and what happened in the next picture. I would say the story is geared toward older kids, maybe 6 and up? The story was interesting, discussing why bears sometimes come near houses, and strategies for dealing with them. However, it did read a bit preachy as other reviewers have described, and at times the text read more like a lesson than like an engaging story. I think for those who live with bears nearby, this book could be particularly interesting. My kids have yet to really engage with the text (though as I said, they enjoyed the photos), but I do think they will like it more when they're older.

It was spring and a large black bear who had slept away the winter emerged from his den to find food. It had been a long "six month nap" and as he stood tall against a pine tree and scratched his back he was ready to forage for food. He found some cutworms on the ground, but an enticing smell, "a sweet, nutty odor," lured him toward Charlie's house. Charlie was tending to his geese and was stacking hay in the shed where their grain was stored. He was careful to put his two pet geese in the shed at night because he wanted to keep them safe from predators.

That night the bear "ripped at the shed door with his sharp claws, pushing and pulling until it broke in half." The geese were safe from harm because the bear didn't want them, but the seed would be strewn on the ground when he tipped the garbage can in the yard. He raised his nose to look at Charlie's family who was peering at him from the window. It would be a feast night for the bear, who would soon be marauding the neighborhood in search of food. He would pull down bird feeders and scatter compost piles. There was talk of shooting the bear. Charlie began to research the habits of the bear. Would he be able to convince people that their behavior was drawing the bear to their homes? Was there a way to save him?

This is a wonderful story that will teach young people how to keep bears in the woods and away from their property. I liked the casual approach this story takes to instruct people how to deal with wildlife. Bears can be notorious pests and will destroy property trying to find something tasty to eat. The artwork nicely captures the mischievous, but destructive behavior of these animals. Charlie educates the reader and writes out six steps instructing people what they can do if they find a bear in their backyard. The phrase, "The bear isn't the problem--you are!" is one of the key messages to children. This book will have more impact on the rural child, but all children can learn about bear behavior in these pages. The Tilbury website offers classroom activities to compliment this book.

"Bear-ly There" is a fascinating book for kids about how to react constructively when a bear moves into your back yard. Filled with beautiful paintings/illustrations of bear and other creatures of northern woods in their natural settings, "Bear-ly There" is a book infused with a love of nature that is communicated directly to its young readers, through both the written word and visual appeal. "Bear-ly There" also offers a number of practical suggestions to help humans and bears coexist peacefully and happily. Children will identify with the reactions of Charlie to the problem of how to deal with having a bear in your back yard. He makes a poster with six specific suggestions on it to help make human living areas not appealing or attractive to bears. The secret to what to do if you have a bear in your backyard is to realize the bear isn't the problem - you are! "Bear-ly There" is a wonderful resource book for children in grade 3-6.