Review/Giveaway: Bear-ly There

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Hi! It's me, Esmé, reviewing my very own book! I am two and a HALF years old!

Bear-ly There is written and illustrated by Rebekah Raye. It's a 32-page hardcover children's book recommended for grades 3-6. It is very beautiful.

Here's what the publisher has to say about it:

"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."

Here's what I've got to say about it:

What is the book about? A bear!

Are bears scary? Yeah!

Is the bear hungry? Yeah! Yucky! Those are worms!

Look, the duck is in the swimming pool! Those are actually geese. They are Charlie's pets. He takes good care of them.

Look! The kitty cat is on the boy's bed! Yep, the kitty cat is safe inside away from all the wild animals.

Oh! The bear is scary! Yes, when he comes right up to your house, it is scary! Look, Charlie is writing down some ways you can prevent having bears in your yard.

Look, the bear is scared! He is running away! Yes, Charlie and his parents made lots of noise and scared him away...

There is the bear again! But now he is in the woods where he belongs.

Do you like this book? Yeah! Read it again!

Mommy's Notes

This is a beautifully-illustrated book with valuable lessons on nature. The text is well-written and easy to follow. Along with the main lesson of respect for wild animals, it throws in various nature facts throughout, such as how bears rub against trees, what geese (and raccoons and skunks and bobcats and foxes and mice) eat, what bear tracks look like, and what a compost pile is.

It's recommended for an older age than Esmé, but even at 2 1/2, she enjoyed the pictures, got the main message, and was able to sit through the text. And being the lover of scary things, she loved this book. Though it probably didn't help her dislike of picking berries any!

And we do live in bear country. We haven't actually seen any, but they've been spotted in the hill behind our house. So these are definitely lessons we can use.

If you'd like more information or are interested in purchasing this book, visit Tilbury Publishers.

We won our copy of this book by commenting on a post at Reading Rumpus with a giveaway sponsored by Tilbury Publishers. We then volunteered to participate in this tour.

And as a visitor of the tour, you all get a chance to win some prizes!

Blog Comment Prizes

Tilbury Publishers will draw 9 lucky winners from all of those who leave comments on the participating tour posts (including this one) from October 16-30 to win one of the following prizes:

• A set of four art cards (2 sets available)
• A signed wildlife art print
• An original sketch from Bear-ly There
• An original sketch from The Very Best Bed
• An original sketch from Thanks to the Animals
• A copy of Bear-ly There, The Very Best Bed, or Thanks to the Animals, signed by Rebekah Raye

Winners will be announced on Oct. 31, US/Canada addresses only, please.

Twitter Prize
Everyone who participates in the Twitter Book Party, and/or posts anything about the tour using the hashtag #BearlyThere from October 15-30 will be entered to win a complete set of Bear-ly There, Thanks to the Animals, and The Very Best Bed, all signed by Rebekah Raye.

Winners will be announced on Oct. 31, US/Canada addresses only, please.

Other Stops on the Bear-ly There Tour Schedule
Oct. 16 - Bri Meets Books
Oct. 17 - In the Pages
Oct. 18 - Infant Bibliophile
Oct. 19 - Grass Stain Guru
Oct. 20 - Margo Dill's Read These Books and Use Them!
Oct. 21 - Satisfaction for Insatiable Readers
Oct. 22 - On My Bookshelf
Oct. 23 - Nature Moms
Oct. 24 - Tilbury House on Facebook
Oct. 25 - Ready Set Read
Oct. 26 - Mozi Esmé
Oct. 27 - Anastasia Suen's Picture Book of the Day
Oct. 28 - Byron T. Bear Foundation
Oct. 29 - Amy Lundebrek's blog
Oct. 30 - Get Bear Smart Society