Backyard Bear

by Jim Murphy

It's a dark, moonlit night when the hungry young bear pauses at the foot of the mountain. The delicious smell of food is very inviting, and he crosses the road and enters the sleeping town. Readers will follow this bear's nocturnal wanderings from one backyard to another--a journey that will take him deeper and deeper into strange and scary world. Full color illustrations.

32 pages, Library Binding

First published February 1, 1993

About the author

Librarian Note: There is more than one author by this name in the Goodreads data base.

Reviews

[Tyrone Hardy · Rating 4 out of 5]

“Backyard Bear” by Jim Murphy and Jeffrey Greene is a fiction book about a young bear who wonders down into a small neighborhood in search of food. The action in this story builds and builds until it explodes at you like a bear crashing through a fence. This book is best suited for 3rd to 5th grade students. There is a lot of tension in this story, but there are also moments for scientific inquiry to take place. This was a great little story.

[Cheryl · Rating 4 out of 5]

I quite liked this. It reads like an adventure, but as made clear by the note, it's a true story that resembles all too many other encounters. The only thing dated about the book imo is the list of further reading titles.

For a younger audience than the excellent Backyard Bears: Conservation, Habitat Changes, and the Rise of Urban Wildlife.

[Sarah Rodriguez · Rating 5 out of 5]

Keywords: children's literature, thriller, nature

Backyard Bear is written as realistic fiction and really keeps you on the edge of your seat! The author incorporates literary elements of rising and falling action, ultimately ending up in a resolution. A young black bear is on the hunt for food in the forest but has to resort to a trip to the town when he's met with an obstacle in the form of a fully grown bear. Backyard Bear is an easy read that's sure to keep students engaged throughout the entire story while being a little comedic as well in the midst of the climax.