A Boy and His Bear [Hardcover]

Harriet Graham (Author)

Book Description

Having been abused himself by the tanner's wife while working as an apprentice, Dickon befriends an abused bear cub and struggles fearlessly to set the cub bear free from his horrible fate at the hands of the London Bear Garden workers.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Grade 4-7-An exciting, page-turning adventure story that will keep children reading until its gripping climax. Dickon's comfortable childhood changes abruptly with his father's death and his mother's remarriage. Apprenticed to a tanner, he hates the thought of killing animals and seems to be the constant target of the mistress's anger and disdain. While on an errand to the Bear Garden where bears are used to bait attack dogs for entertainment, he befriends a frightened cub. Drawn to it like a magnet, the boy continues to visit the animal until a visit at the annual fair changes his life forever. Seeing the cub's mother fighting in the ring, he becomes determined to save the cub from this fate. At the same time, a bear handler sees Dickon's gentle way with animals as a threat and tries to kill both boy and bear by starting a fire. Dickon and the cub escape to France with a tumbling family where they find themselves once again in a fight for their lives. Readers will identify with Dickon's efforts to save the creature while learning how bears were once mistreated for people's entertainment. A rich and interesting cast of characters from the evil Bear Catcher to the gentle Rosa, daughter of the tumblers, bring the time and place convincingly alive. This is an example of the best sort of historical fiction that involves children in an exciting story while giving them a memorable hero and a taste of life in another time.
Jane Gardner Connor, South Carolina State Library, Columbia
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist

Gr. 4^-6. The barbaric "sport" of bearbaiting makes an unusual but compelling subject for this historical novel set in Elizabethan England. When a twist of fate makes Dickon the trainer of a cub in the London Bear Garden, the boy determines to save the animal from its terrible destiny (being chained and torn to pieces by dogs for popular entertainment). Helped by a troupe of tumblers, Dickon flees with the bear to France, only to find that destiny has followed. Despite one of the least felicitous titles in recent memory, this is a highly readable and dramatic story, rich in well-integrated period detail and peopled with a sympathetic cast of characters (even Will Shakespeare makes a cameo appearance) who are challenged by a pack of satisfyingly evil antagonists. Michael Cart

Product Details

• Hardcover: 192 pages
• Publisher: Margaret K. McElderry (October 1, 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0689809433
• ISBN-13: 978-0689809439
• Product Dimensions: 8.6 x 5.8 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #709,604 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Boy and His Bear, May 11, 2006

By 

Ashley Suire (Lafayette, Louisiana) - See all my reviews

This review is from: A Boy and His Bear (Hardcover)

This book is a great one that shows the trials and tribulations of a young boy. This story is set in London, England and the main character is Dickinson. Dickinson's father died and he is forced by his new step-father to become an apprentice. He has a master who he cannot disobey, however, if he does obey him, he will not be able to keep the bear that he has grown to love and care about. Graham allows the two to grow very close and become great friends. Friendship is something that is very important and very well illustrated by Graham. The journey that Dickinson goes on shows that younger children have great strength and courage. He becomes determined that he is going to set the cub free before he is harmed, causing himself many dangers. This book is told mainly through the point of view of Dickinson, but it does also include the point of view of the bear. I highly recommend this book to anyone who is interested in books which include the elements of friendship, courage, and love.

5.0 out of 5 stars we give it five stars, April 12, 2009

By 

audrey (white mtns) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: A Boy and His Bear (Hardcover)

Dickon is a young boy whose merchant father encouraged him to learn and study, but his new stepfather has apprenticed him to a tanner, a gruesome position that is ill-suited to the boy. He is miserable, particularly since the tanner's wife doesn't like him and is always needling him, until one day he is sent to carry a message to the Master of the Bear Pit, the location of bear-baiting, a place that we would find horrific but was considered back then to be a form of entertainment. While there, a terrified cub flees from its tormentors and straight toward Dickon! Amazingly, his kindness and gentle touch calm the beast, and the surprised Master offers to save the cub if Dickon will teach it to dance. From there on, Dickon's life is filled with adventure, new friends, old friends, enemies and danger.

This is an exciting book for middle schoolers, a good novel at exploring another time, introducing the ideas of how we treat animals, the place of children in society and the system of apprenticeships that was in place at that time. We used this as a reader while we homeschooled Elizabethan England, and it was a fine supplement, probably best treated as a read-aloud for 4th and 5th grade or a suitable read-alone novel for older kids. The author does a fine job of illustrating the similarities between kids even in different time periods, and paints a vivid picture of England in the early 1600s. There's even a cameo appearance by Will Shakespeare!

5.0 out of 5 stars Gripping and heartbreaking, June 9, 2003

By 

shelley riskin (Glenview, IL United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: A Boy and His Bear (Hardcover)

Having just completed a wonderful exploration of Elizabethan England, and as a lover of animals, I was intrigued by the combination of these two themes in this book. The characters, human and bear, are unforgettable. The scenes of mistreatment are haunting, especially since they are based on fact. As a school librarian, I would recommend this book to kids older than 5th grade who want a gripping adventure that shows what it was REALLY like in Shakespeare's England. But beware--the powerful depiction of callousness and savagery is NOT for everyone. This book will stay with you long after you have read it.