Bear-ly There Rebekah Raye Hardcover, $16.95, ISBN 978-0-88448-314-4 9 x 10, 32 pages, illustrations Children / Nature; Grades 3-6

Moonbeam Silver Medal, Environmental Issues

"Bear-ly There is a fascinating book for kids about how to react constructively when a bear moves into your back yard. Filled will 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."
—Midwest Book Review, Children's Bookwatch

"The magnificently rich rendering of a bear on the cover invites readers into the woods to witness the bear awakening in the spring. . . . Charlie and his family watch with trepidation as, day after day, the bear finds new reasons to invade civilization: to steal seed, knock over trash cans, and tear up the compost pile. Charlie warns neighbors by posting signs ("What to do if you have a bear in your backyard"), and his family members devise plans to protect their turf . . . admirably confronts a problem not often addressed in children's books."
—Booklist)

"I love the book, its message, and its illustrations! We had a bear in our neighborhood and went through the same experience that the family in the book does--and by taking down our birdfeeders and removing the things that were attracting the bear and her cub, we got them to stop hanging around our houses. If you have bears at your house, you are the problem, not the bear! The boy in this book may have saved the bear's life by taking action and putting up that poster to educate his neighbors."
—Lynne Cherry, Children's Author (The Great Kapok Tree), Environmentalist, and Filmmaker

"Rebekah Raye presents a wonderfully illustrated, true-to-life story many of us who live in bear country might encounter. Bear-ly There presents straightforward and entertaining ways to coexist with these amazing creatures of the forest for all ages."
—Sean Matthews, Associate Conservation Scientist, Wildlife Conservation Society

"Wonderful illustrations; wonderful message and text. Loved it. We have that same problem right here (and we just raised a goose, too)."
—Bernd Heinrich, author of Summer World: A Season of Bounty Winter World: The Ingenuity of Animal Survival, Mind of the Raven, and other books

What do you do when there's a bear in your backyard? A big black bear shows up one moonlit night and creates a real ruckus, first breaking into the shed where the grain is kept for the geese (who aren't too happy about it), then raiding the bird feeders. The bear is also causing problems at other homes in the neighborhood, getting into the trash and compost and eating dog food that was left out overnight. One neighbor offers to shoot it. Another one suggests calling the game warden to have the bear tranquilized and relocated. But the child among them knows what is best. A bear belongs in the woods, Charlie says, and together with the adults he clears the yards in the neighborhood of any food that would tempt the bear. His dad comes up with a good idea for warning the bear away—and it works! Bear-ly There shows that it's always best for the bear if it stays in the woods, away from humans. An occasional glimpse of a bear through the trees or at the far side of a meadow is much, much better than having one in the backyard—for us and for the bear.

Rebekah Raye is an artist beloved for her bird and animal paintings and sculpture. Her warm, expressive work is derived from her affinity with the natural world around her at her studio and home in East Blue Hill, Maine (where she had a bear visitor not too long ago). She illustrated Thanks to the Animals by Allen Sockabasin and is the author and illustrator of The Very Best Bed. Rebekah shares her love of art and her skills in workshops for adults and children and makes frequent school visits. For more about Rebekah: www.rebekahraye.com, twitter.com/Rebekah_Raye, www.facebook.com/pages/Rebekah-Raye/228781960724?ref=ts

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