Publishers Weekly
07/10/2017
This well-designed companion to Wolf Island features Read’s exquisite photographs of black bears, grizzlies, and rare spirit bears—black bears born with white fur—as they eat, sleep, travel, and play over the course of a year in British Columbia’s verdant Great Bear Rainforest. Amid photos that showcase various adult bears, as well as cubs with their mothers, McAllister vividly describes ursine behaviors and the ecology of their habitat: “The Great Bear Rainforest’s long, jagged coastline has many rivers and streams. Bears get some of their food from these streams, especially in the fall when the salmon return.” It’s a captivating and intimately photographed look at the lives of wild bears. Ages 5–8. (Aug.)
Youth Services Book Review
"This is a beautiful, fact-filled book that should enchant the reader."
Sal's Fiction Addiction
"We have talked about the Great Bear Rainforest in other posts, all by this talented and impressive pair whose glorious nature photography and impeccable research have given us other books to admire and inspire. Following Wolf Island, this second picture book is perfect for younger readers."
Canadian Children's Book Centre (CCBC) Canadian Children’s Book News
"Visually spectacular, Wolf Island and A Bear's Life work best as a pair, showing how different types of animals navigate the vast and ancient rainforest in both different and similar ways. Read together, these books—and undoubtedly any others that will be added to the series in the future—provide opportunities for readers to compare and contrast the habits, homes and personalities of some of their favourite animals in a highly engaging and informative way. Full of universal themes the books in the My Great Bear Rainforest series will delight readers of all interests and abilities. "
Resource Links
"A Bear's Life is highly recommended for school and public libraries for study units and for story times. This book would enhance study units on bears, ecological systems, rainforests, indigenous mythology, the Raven, and photography. Both books in My Great Bear Rainforest Series further understanding of the beauty and importance of the Great Bear Rainforest and by extension all forests and their inhabitants."
CM: Canadian Review of Materials
"The incredible close-up photos lead the reader from spring to fall in the rainforest as the easy-to-read text introduces each unique and special aspect of the bears' home...Impressive presentation. The writing style is especially inviting to younger readers...Hopefully this author-photographer duo still have more to offer all ages about British Columbia's endangered rainforest as a way to encourage conservation efforts. Highly Recommended."
Booklist
"Extensively photo illustrated by McAllister, images range from stunning landscape portraits to impressive action shots to playful photos of a cub lounging in the grass…this stuns."
The Horn Book
Striking photographs…Dazzling.
Sal's Fiction Addiction blog
"We have talked about the Great Bear Rainforest in other posts, all by this talented and impressive pair whose glorious nature photography and impeccable research have given us other books to admire and inspire. Following Wolf Island, this second picture book is perfect for younger readers."
The Horn Book Online
Striking photographs…Dazzling.
Canadian Children's Book News
"Visually spectacular, Wolf Island and A Bear's Life work best as a pair, showing how different types of animals navigate the vast and ancient rainforest in both different and similar ways. Read together, these books—and undoubtedly any others that will be added to the series in the future—provide opportunities for readers to compare and contrast the habits, homes and personalities of some of their favourite animals in a highly engaging and informative way. Full of universal themes the books in the My Great Bear Rainforest series will delight readers of all interests and abilities. "
CM Magazine
"The incredible close-up photos lead the reader from spring to fall in the rainforest as the easy-to-read text introduces each unique and special aspect of the bears' home...Impressive presentation. The writing style is especially inviting to younger readers...Hopefully this author-photographer duo still have more to offer all ages about British Columbia's endangered rainforest as a way to encourage conservation efforts. Highly Recommended."
Booklist
"Extensively photo illustrated by McAllister, images range from stunning landscape portraits to impressive action shots to playful photos of a cub lounging in the grass…this stuns."
School Library Journal
07/01/2017
K-Gr 3—Read examines the life cycle of a number of bear species that call the Great Bear Rainforest in British Columbia home. McAllister's stunning photographs reveal the beauty and magnificence of the area; young readers will be drawn to the full-page photos. The book imparts basic facts about bear habitat, diet, and family life. Read emphasizes how much time it takes for cubs to learn survival skills from their mom and the importance of a balanced ecosystem. An eagle, a wolf, and a deer make guest appearances. McAllister's close-up images of the creatures and the forest radiate with energy and atmosphere, in large part because of the clean layout, which lets them shine. Occasionally the information could be a bit more specific; for example, the text references the "spirit bear" but doesn't mention its many other names (Kermode bear or moskgm'ol). VERDICT A title sure to be enjoyed over and over again. An easy pick for nonfiction animal collections.—Denise Moore, formerly at O'Gorman Junior High School, Sioux Falls, SD
Kirkus Reviews
2017-05-24
A nature photographer shares his images of young bearhood in the Great Bear Rainforest. Appropriately, McAllister's name comes first on the cover and title page. The heart of this album is his photography: two beautiful landscapes showing the pristine Great Bear Rainforest bookend many, many close-ups of bears. There are grizzly bears, black bears, and the one-in-10 black bear with white fur that is called a spirit bear. Aimed at young readers and listeners, the simple text focuses on the lives of bear cubs and their parents, finding food—plant shoots and berries, barnacles and other seashore treats, salmon—napping, exploring, and playing. Most spreads include a full-page photo (or one crossing the fold) and one or two smaller ones plus a paragraph or two. There's no attempt to explain the location of this pristine coastal wilderness in British Columbia, which the author and photographer have described in such books for older readers as The Salmon Bears (2010) and other titles. There is, though, a nod to the indigenous human inhabitants with a summary of the Raven tale explaining the existence of the white bears. There's also an intriguing description of bear fishing styles: grabbing, scooping, pinning, crushing. An appropriate companion to Wolf Island (2017) to nourish the sense of wonder. (Informational picture book. 5-8)
