Customer Reviews

Summers with the Bears: Six Seasons in the North Woods

5 star:		(16)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This is a book written with honesty and modesty. Just when you think you know what you're talking about where bears are concerned, they prove you wrong...over and over again. I have been involved in black bear research in Minnesota for over 11 years. It made me laugh out loud and cry. It brought back memories and experiences that I thought very few people would understand. You are are two people who do understand. To this day, I have your photo of "conversation with a bear" from the Herald on my desk next to some of my own favorite bear photos. Everyday it makes me smile. Thank you Jack and Patty for this wonderful book. I will cherish it.

Summer with the bears is by far the best book I've ever read. If you don't have it or haven't read it do so now. It will change your life in some way I'm sure. I first read about it in the Reader's Digest and put my copy on order for the moment it came out. Little bit and all of the other bears touched my heart so much it's hard ot describe. I felt like I was there with them as events were happening. Jack and Patti you are so lucky to have had this special time in your lives and I thank you from the bottom of my heart for your sharing it with us. Just goes to show that all animals are not as we always imagine them to be, yet we know at the same time they are not all created equal. There are those that possess a special trait and willingness to be different, that was little bit. Your book was written from your heart, and the pictures helped us to be there too. I laughed and I cried along with you. so few of us will experience what you did interacting with the bears on the level that you did. I attribute your book to helping me find a hidden talent I did not know existed in me. I started sketching, and yes mostly bears. I did one of you and Patti with little bit, if you'd ever like them all you need to do is ask and they are yours. You touched my life in such a special way that in turn I'd like to touch your lives too. Hope there will be more books and I wish you all the best in your lives. Thank You for sharing your special lives with the world.

I read a piece from this book in Reader's Digest. Cut it out and carried it with me. Ordered it as soon as it came out (at Border's books). I loved it. I related to it because of knowing a person whose cabin is on a bear trail. It says alot about trust and friendship between species on this earth.

With an appreciation of the necessities of wild animals and their general desire to remain alive this book indicates an accommodation, or better, an understanding and appreciation of the emotions of each species can create a bond and affection making life more attractive and interesting.jduffy@mau.com

I just loved reading "Summers With The Bear"! I really felt like I would also miss "Little Bit" and the other bears. I wanted there to be another chapter to describe the seventh summer. The way that Jack and Patti wrote about their once in a lifetime adventure was Fantastic.

I just loved this book. Hated to come to the end. A marvelous and touching story about animals, love and trust and nature. Almost too amazing to be true but with wonderful photos to prove it! I will lie awake at night and dream of Jack and Patti and their bears. Thank you, Becklunds!

I never understood black bears until reading Jack Becklund's book. I laughed and cried, feeling as if I was right there with Jack and his wife Patti. Afterward, I wanted to visit that area, see the house, see the yard where Little Bit and the other bears played. I now want to find out more about helping these wonderful creatures survive. I have never been more moved by a book. I would love to communicate with Jack and Patti some time and get a picture of "Conversation with a Bear". They are incredible people and so fortunate to have had such a gift in their lives as becoming intimately involved with God's beautiful wildlife.
I would HIGHLY recommend this book. I am reading it again now for the second time. It is hard to put down. Thank you Jack and Patti for sharing this beautiful experience with us.
Joanne Setlock
Wallace Ave.
Buffalo, New York 14216

If you love animals, nature, the great outdoors, and reading about people who love all those things too, please get this book, sit down with a box of tissues, and enjoy! You'll laugh, you'll cry, you'll shake your head in wonderment. The author Jack Becklund and his wife Patti, move deep into the Minnesota forests. Their property is home to deer gamboling on the lawn, chipmunks and hand-fed squirrels munching seeds on the porch,wild mallard ducks swimming and splashing in the creek below, and a colorful array of native birds. But the real heart of the story is Little Bit, the black bear cub who toddles onto the back deck one day, and stays for the next six summers as a welcome, loving, and deeply loved guest of the couple. She is a magical spirit, a living, breathing gift from God, sent to bring great joy to their lives. We are honored to meet Little Bit's cubs, her mates, and numerous other black bears who live in the area, and come to trust the Becklunds. The story itself is incredible, but between the lines, we watch the couple come to love and appreciate the power of this sacred trust they've been given...the joy of the relationship they share with these magnificent animals.This is a book for all time...a classic in every sense of the word. The photos are magnificent, and bring the personalities of the animals into beautiful focus.

Summer With The Bears is about a couple who decide to leave the city for an adventure in Minnesota to observe the bears. At first Jack & Patti started out just observing the bears for hours to learn their habits and earn their confidence. And they do earn their trust. There were many more animals that they befriended. They kept a journal on everything that happened concerning the bears and other animals. They even named the bears.

As a true animal lover, I really liked this book. The pictures added to the book. If you are looking for a short and sweet read this is the book for you.

Jack and Patti, what a wonderful story. I learned much from the book and I also can relate as my friend and I had a realtionship with a wonderful black baby bear this past fall. It was absolutely magical. Your story certainly tugged at my heart strings, as I laughed and cried while reading your story. You bring to the public that humans and animals can communicate and perhaps these so-called wild animals are more human than some people are willing to admit. I can understand why you ended where you did. Thank you for a wonderful book.