Rebekah Raye

Charlie always took good care of his two pet geese, providing them with a safe, enclosed area to graze, and their own pool. Every evening, he made sure they were bedded down in their shed, protected from the wild animals that lived in the nearby forest. But when a hungry black bear breaks into the storage shed late one spring night, gorging himself on birdseed, Charlie wonders how he can protect his birds, especially when he learns that the bear has also been into one neighbor's compost show more pile, and another's bird-feeder. Should the game warden be called, and the bear relocated? Or, as one neighbor suggests, should it be shot...?

As Charlie (and through him, Rekekah Raye) notes in the poster he hangs up, if there's a bear in your backyard, "The bear isn't the problem - you are!" Bear-ly There is an engaging story of how one boy and his family resolve their community's bear problem, and also offers concrete suggestions for others facing a similar situation. Cleaning off grills, as soon as they have been used, taking down bird-feeders in the summer, and a number of other effective precautions are suggested, through Charlie's proactive poster. Entertaining and educational, with beautiful pictures, this is a winner! I intend to look for more by this author/illustrator! show less

I was a little disappointed that the copy that I received was basically the whole book, but not bound. So, I got loose pages and a dust jacket. That's not a book!

Anyway, the book was awesome. The illustration was just beautiful and the story was great! I actually learned a little about what to do when a bear is around. I can see how it would be a great teaching tool for either a classroom or for a parent living in a rural or suburban community where bears are known to live.

I can see how I show more would use the book to educate my own children in the future so that they know not to fear bears, but to be smart about how to handle them. We need more books like this!

I loved the book! show less

Bear-ly there barely goes into the everyday life of black bears and concentrates on how humans should avoid attracting bears into their yards. That being said, it is a decent non-threatening introduction to interacting with black bears in suburban settings. The delightfully warm illustrations do much to save the slightly didactic story.

With local news stories covering the spread of Black Bears throughout the Fingerlakes and Upstate New York regions, this would be a timely acquisition for show more public and school libraries. The same advice given in bland newspaper articles every spring comes to life as the little boy protagonist learns to put away the birdseed once the snow melts, cover all trash receptacles and make loud noises while making yourself look big if a bear is nearby. show less

A little gray squirrel searches for a place to sleep in this charming bedtime story by Maine artist Rebekah Raye, who also illustrated Allen Sockabasin's Thanks To The Animals, as well as her own more recent book, Bear-ly There. From a cozy bear's den, to a branch thick with hanging bats, every sleeping place the squirrel investigates seems to be taken, until finally, an abandoned woodpecker's nest provides "the very best bed..."

With a simple text that is full of motion - rabbits go "hop, show more hop, hopping," the squirrel climbs "up, up, up" - and lovely watercolor illustrations that really make the animals come alive, The Very Best Bed would make a wonderful read-aloud tale - particularly for children who have trouble settling down for the night. Like squirrel, hopefully they can be led to their very own "very best bed." show less