Alaska's Three Bears

by Shelley Gill, Shannon Cartwright (Illustrator)

Join the polar, grizzly, and black bears as they travel across Alaska's vast wilderness. This is the real story of the three bears, filled with facts on America's best-loved bruins. Ages 3 and up.

Genres: Picture Books, Childrens, Nonfiction, Animals

32 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1990

About the author

Alaskan author Shelley Gill lives in Homer, Alaska at the end of the road in North America. Her books reflect her life: racing in the Iditarod Sled Dog Race, doing humpback research in Prince William Sound and working as a naturalist in various habitats: Alaska, Antarctica and Hawaii. Her current project, Whale Detective, follows her own research into the community life of humpbacks in Alaska. Her APP What's Up With Whales is in the App Store and looks at the new science about whales around the world. And in February her first board book: If I Were A Whale will be released by Sasquatch Books. She has visited 4800 schools around the world inspiring students to be avid readers and great writers. Her autobiography, Gabe-a girl, her dog and the 1970's, was released in the fall 2016.

Reviews

[Andrew Kline · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cute book! A nicely illustrated story of how the three types of bears spread throughout the USA, with additional, more in-depth information at the bottom of the pages. Read on the Soldotna Library Storywalk

[Bernardo Sanchez · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was my childhood book and in a story shows how the three bears found their right place to live. And the authors choice to write bear facts on the bottom of the page is a great addition to the story, to get children to also learn about bears.

[J · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was rather a new book to me but it caught my eye since of the fact that the style resembles so much another author whom I enjoy. As a result I chose to flip through the pages then found myself actually reading the story.

It is a very easy story about the three different types of bears that can be found in Alaska and Canada and how they found their current homes. As such it is sweet and a bit nostalgic for those who have struggeled to find their own niche.

What makes this book a true winner for me is so many things. First of all the story is told in such easy words that it isn't hard to follow nor hard to grasp even if it is a bit educational. For those who do like the latter there are included even more facts at the bottom of the page, which don't truly interrupt the story. Furthermore there is a section in the back that gives teachers suggestions on how to use the book and even bear tips for when you are in bear country.

The second thing that truly did catch my eye was the illustrations. The bears weren't cartoonsish even in their light colors, the backgrounds were beautifully done and there were gorgeous borders that included parts of the bears' lives and/or their spot in Native lore. All in all it was a gorgeously illustrated book that brought the reader into the natural world of the bears.

I would truly recommend this book for young readers who are interested in bears or those who are trying to teach others about bears. Although the story is a bit backwards for evolution it still holds a meaningful message that can tie into talks about evolution.

[Dow Jones · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed reading Alaska's Three Bears. This is a story that follows a brown bear, polar bear, and a grizzly bear as they travel across Alaska's wilderness while describing different characteristics for each bear. I love how the book also includes a variety of different animals in the different environments. I also think it's cool that the book has little facts on the bottom of the pages about the bears which can really help someone learn more about the three bears. this book could be used in a variety of ways with the different grades. With 3rd or 4th graders an activity I would do is split the class up into three groups with the groups being for the grizzly, brown, and polar bears. Each group would be responsible for their bear and they would be required to come up with their bears different characteristics and also their bears environment and the different animals they may have saw in that environment in the book. We would then come together as a class and put our findings on a big poster. As an individual activity you could have students make their own poster of one of the three bears by being creative and also clarifying their bears characteristics and environments.

[Grace Swartz · Rating 4 out of 5]

This story follows three bears black, brown, and a polar bear. The three bear's are all trying to find their perfect home in Alaska. The polar bear is able to find their perfect home in the snowy mountains of Alaska. But the other two bear's don't have the claws to navigate the snow. So off they go to hunt for their perfect home. The brown and black bear come to find a stream with fish swimming down the stream. The brown bear has perfect claws for fishing and soon realizes living by the stream is the perfect place for him. But will the black bear be able to find their home?
Also throughout the book it gives the story of the bears while also allowing the children the opportunity to learn facts that align with the books.

I would use this book in a first grade classroom. In the class following the books students will complete a chart comparing the three bears home's and what characteristics the three bears have.

[Lenore Kuipers-Cummins · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a great book for anyone. The illustrations are excellent, as well as the story itself and the background history of the bear.
The reader gets to learn about the polar bear, brown bear, and black bear. They learn about their background, where they originated, their habits, and a distinct description of how they look and act. This would be an excellent book to go along with a study of mammals (bears), or a study about Alaska.

[Courtenay · Rating 4 out of 5]

A bit hokey, spinning off somewhat from other retellings of The Three Bears, but I am such a huge fan of bears and I loved the comparisons and contrasts and the illustrator did a good job trying to depict size differences in 2-d. The margins reminded me of Jan Brett's beautiful illustrations.

[Kristi · Rating 5 out of 5]

Educational even for adults, and a fun read to kids. I picked it up on a train ride in Alaska. I read it to my niece and nephew over Zoom. It would be fun to read again with them in person. Great illustrations.

[Brooke Anne Springer · Rating 4 out of 5]

Do I actually have read this book it is not just on my bookshelf I have read it so many times and even though I am at 10 years old this book is still amazingly wonderful and just I love it

[Sadie · Rating 4 out of 5]

This reminded me of a Gail Gibbons book. It covers the three bears in Alaska and gives many facts about them.

[Clare · Rating 3 out of 5]

Through the story of three different bears who are searching for just the right place for each to live. The illustrations are wonderful and at the bottom of the pages are facts about bears.

[Allie Reitzell · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is a non-fictional book about the different types of bears in Alaska. I can use this to talk about habitats, different types of bears, and science.

[Kelly Shiverdecker]

Published: 1990

This informational nonfiction book describes a story of the life of three bears who live in Alaska, while at the bottom of the page, it gives real facts about bears.

[Megan · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a unique spin on the classic "Three Bears" story. It is full of information and is a great teaching tool. The illustrations are gorgeous and my son has made it interactive as we count the bears on every page and he points out the colors of each one (white, brown, and black).
It introduces less common animals such as the moose and seal as well as several land features. I think it would be appropriate for many age ranges. Younger kids will enjoy the main story, while older children will like the facts box on the bottom of each page.
This is my two year old's favorite book. We read it at least once a day... every day.

2 years later, I would like to add that we are still reading this book often. Our library has expanded quite a bit, but this is still one of the favorites. We have moved on from pointing out colors and counting bears and into discussing habitats and diets of different bears. This really is an excellent book and I look forward to keeping it in our collection for many years to come.

[Tania · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is another book we read to our students at our summer reading program. They loved it. They thought the drawings were terrific, and especially liked the borders on each page. They enjoyed learning more about bears, and they thought it was a neat twist on the original story of the three bears. I highly recommend this book to any teacher who wants to do a unit on bears - it's a book that successfully merges entertainment and educaational components

[Jessica · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fun book that gives students a look at all three types of bears: Polar, Grizzly, and Black. This book is full of great information, but in order to use as a read aloud in kindergarten it is best to just read the story and choose a few snippets of the side information to share.

[Laci · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book was not very interesting. It would be good for a theme with bears or Alaska or climates even. You could also real all different pigs with playoffs of goldilocks. This is what this book is kind of like.

[Kathleen · Rating 5 out of 5]

A good way to learn about the different diets and habitats of the three types of bears found in Alaska (polar, brown, and black.) I liked the reuse of the original “Three Bears” format, as each bear finds a place just right for him!

[Sarah Sammis · Rating 3 out of 5]

Review coming soon. I need to read it again before I review it.

[Kristina Arnold]

An informational book on bears that is very interesting but the pictures should be actual pictures of bears in my opinion.

[Little Champs]

2618 (2)

[Naomi Sapp]

True story but who does not like to hear about bears in Alaska.