Backyard Bear

Chased from the forest because of a shortage of undeveloped space, a hungry young bear wanders far from the wood and finds himself in a human family's backyard.

Kindergarten-Grade 2-- A young bear, forced out of his natural habitat by an older, territorial bear, is lured into a suburban neighborhood by the smell of food. Through dramatic prose, readers follow his encounters with clotheslines, a raccoon, a barbecue grill, dogs, and people, including the police. He manages to elude all searchers, and at dawn lumbers back to the forest. Murphy concludes with information about bears and the news clipping that inspired the story. The pastel illustrations in deep blues, greens, and luminous whites are naturalistic in their portrayal of landscapes and figures. They span lengthwise across the book, offering a sense of open spaces and the atmosphere of the night. As the animal becomes entangled with civilization, the composition gets more crowded and off balance. An exciting story, and one that is becoming more common in real life all the time. --Karen K. Radtke, Milwaukee Public Library
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Borne on Greene's detailed, nocturnal pastel illustrations, this realistic tale rises above its matter-of-fact roots to take on hues of wonder and imminence. One night, a hungry black bear cub wanders innocently into a neighborhood, unaware of its sleeping inhabitants. As he searches for the food he smells, a chain reaction wakes a family and raises a sudden storm of police sirens and piercing lights. The bruin is saved from gunfire when a camera's blinding flash sends him crashing through a fence and out of range. After a fearsome night of hiding in nearby bushes he makes his way home in the dim, pre-dawn stillness. While the book's voice (narrative is in the present tense), layout and, in particular, illustrations call to mind the style and quality of Chris Van Allsburg's work, Murphy's account is distinctively naturalistic and down-to-earth. Its ending cleverly segues into a newspaper-style report on the encroachment of human civilization on wilderness habitats (this story, in fact, is based on an actual event). As a reportorial memoir emotionally enhanced by dramatic illustrations, this book embodies a rare hybrid tone. Ages 5-8.
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Told mostly from a bear's point of view, a thoughtful, nonjudgmental, and scrupulously realistic depiction of people in uneasy confrontation with the wild. In a note, Murphy explains that human encroachments on bears' territory and the lure of easy food are making bear sightings in suburban neighborhoods more common. This story describes such an incident. Driven away by an older bear protecting some blackberries, a bear follows the smell of food into town, where he disturbs some raccoons and rouses a dog and its family who, when they realize it's a bear, call the police. In the confusion created by the interaction of the dog, a boy with a camera, his frightened parents, and a policeman about to shoot the cornered animal, the bear knocks down a fence, then hides out nearby until escaping to the woods at dawn. Greene's dark, dramatically posed paintings nicely capture the ambience of the peaceful, moonlit rural community and the confusion of an exciting encounter that could easily have ended in tragedy. Brief but interesting bibliography, including books from several state agencies. (Picture book. 4-9) -- Copyright ©1993, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.