Nicholas Read

The Great Bear Sea encompasses the waters along the north coast of British Columbia, Canada, and includes Hecate Strait, Queen Charlotte Sound, and Dixon Entrance. Nicholas Read and Ian McAllister focus on the animals seen in this region of the Pacific in a children’s nonfiction book notable for its stunningly beautiful photographs. Read and McAllister help young readers see the dense temperate rainforest from a diving and spy-hopping orca’s perspective. The orca is on the lookout for show more seals or sea lions that her pod can share, but her periscoping thrust upwards also affords her a view of a grizzly on the shore who feeds on seafood: crabs, mussels, and barnacles. The orca’s world includes other shore and marine animals: wolves who dig in the sand for clams, massive fin whales, each the size of a bus, who consume krill and plankton, and hundreds of varieties of fish. The writers also mention many species of birds. At times, the text begins to read like a list, but then Read zooms in to provide a couple of interesting facts about a less-known creature, such as the gigantic Pacific octopus (which is known to be very intelligent and actually uses tools) and the twenty-four-legged sunflower sea star, large as an umbrella. The orca’s quest for food is not a success, so even though this is a world in which “one fish always eats another”, the book does not venture into “nature red in tooth and claw” territory. The orca passes by; the hiding harbour seal can, in the end, come out to enjoy the day.

This lovely work, part of the My Great Bear Rainforest series, is sure to please kids aged 7 to 10 who love to read about the natural world.

Thanks to Orca Book Publishers and Netgalley for providing me with a review copy. show less

This is a great informational book about the bears of Great Bear Rainforest in British Columbia. It follows a year of seasons and gives a wide variety of information about Grizzly Bears, Black Bears, and Spirit Bears. It also gives a good sampling of information about the ecosystem of Great Bear Rainforest and the conservation needs to protect these amazing bears. This book is the first place that I heard of Spirit Bears. I especially loved the "Just the Bear Facts" side bars which gave show more additional context to the information in the book or answered questions related to the information in the chapter. show less

I've put off a review of this book for over a year because I couldn't decide how to write it in such a way to convey how amazing this story is. I will start by saying that I am now completely fascinated by bears and the Northwest coastal area.

This is the story of the Great Bear Rainforest, a coastal temperate rainforest on the west coast of British Columbia that is home to First Nations people, an amazing variety of animal and plant life, and bears. Grizzly bears, American black bears, and show more spirit bears, a rare species of black bears.

In loving detail, photographs, and lush language, McAllister and Read describe the beauties of the Great Bear Rainforest and the bears that live there; the amazing discoveries that have been made about these mysterious animals, the wilderness that still remains to be explored, and how the bears have adapted to their special environment.

The book is divided into the four seasons and the reader follows the bears through the cycle of the seasons and their lives as they hunt for different kinds of food, mate, give birth, and raise their cubs, face enemies, and survive in their natural habitat.

The final chapter talks about the threats faced by the bears and the rainforest - only a small part of the forest is protected and logging and other industrial activities endanger the area while trophy hunting endangers the bears themselves. The authors recognize the varied concerns but are clearly on the side of the bears and the wonders of the rainforest. Suggestions of places to go to help and an index complete the book.

Verdict: The amount of text will be daunting to reluctant readers, but many middle grade children will find this a fascinating and eye-opening read, as will adults! Highly recommended.

ISBN: 9781554692057; Published April 2010 by Orca Books; Borrowed from the library; Purchased for the library; Added to my personal wishlist show less

I love bears, especially the bears of the Great Bear Rainforest on the northwest coast, but I was disappointed with this duos' first picture book featuring them - although the photographs were lovely, the text was disjointed. This second title, featuring the wolves of the rainforest, is much better and I'm eager to add it to my library.

The story begins with a wolf, with thick, shaggy fur in a multitude of colors, swimming to a new island. He's ready to begin life on his own and has found his show more own territory. The wolf is sometimes lonely, but there's plenty of food to find and places to explore. He hunts for salmon, eats fish eggs, and tracks deer. Finally, another wolf arrives and the first wolf has a mate! The two have a litter of cubs and the island has a new pack of wolves.

While there's not an extensive amount of information in the text and the wolf is more anthropomorphic more than I would like, the gorgeous photographs let the reader into a special world. Placid sunsets, roiling seas, and all the rich life of the northwest rainforest is shown in this pictorial journey of one wolf from loneliness to a new pack.

Verdict: If you have wolf fans, this is a book that will introduce them to a unique group and their lives at sea and on land.

ISBN: 9781459812642; Published 2017 by Orca; Borrowed from another library in my consortium show less