Welcome to week one of the Summer Challenge! It’s “bearly” summer, and I’m sure the suspense you’ve all endured waiting for this first week of reading has been unbearable. Well, you don’t have to bear it any longer.
It’s a Wild Summer of books and reading, and we’re inviting a different animal each week to host that week’s challenge. But before we get to our first guest, have you signed up yet? Make sure you do so you’re eligible for the end of summer giveaway!
I’m excited to introduce you to our first guest. The big, cuddly, and sometimes ferocious Bear!
Bear, take it away!
Why, thank you for the warm welcome! I’m Bear, and I’m excited to be here! First up, a little about me and my family.
Bears live in North and South America, Asia, and Europe, according to American Bear Association. This means, we do not live in Africa (although fossils suggest we used to live there), Antarctica, or Australia.
Bears might live in your neck of the woods if you live in a mountain community like my friend Marci. Bear sightings are not uncommon where she lives in the mountains of Montana. But as much as she likes bears (she told me herself), she wouldn’t want to see one in the wild! She’d rather stick to bears such as Corduroy, Paddington, Winnie the Pooh, Smokey the Bear, and Yogi.
Do you know how many kinds of bears there are? According to Bear With Us, a bear sanctuary in Canada, there are 8 types of bears: North American Black Bear, Brown Bear, Polar Bear, Asiatic Black Bear, Andean Bear, Panda Bear, Sloth Bear, and Sun Bear. You can read more about these species here. Can you guess which one I am?
Since we bears look so cute and cuddly—thank you, teddy bears!—it’s important to be bear aware and know facts about bears, especially if you’re in an area where they might live. Books can help with that! So, keep reading for the beary best book list, full of a good mix of fiction and nonfiction bear books, as well as a couple of my personal favorites thrown in just for fun!
Read: The Beary Best Book List (or other beary books of your choosing)
Bear Snores On by Karma Wilson, illustrated by Jane Chapman. As forest friends wake up, they all gather in Bear’s den to warm up, but Bear isn’t waking up—he snores on! Will he ever awaken and greet his friends?
We’re Going on a Bear Hunt by Michael Rosen, illustrated by Helen Oxenbury. This classic picture book is a lot like the song—join 4 kids and their father as they traipse over hills, through fields, and into a dark forest looking for a bear. Spoiler: No bear is harmed during this bear hunt!
A Bedtime for Bear by Bonny Becker, illustrated by Kady MacDonald Denton. This is book 3 in a 6-book series about Bear and Mouse. Bear needs to go to bed, but Mouse cannot be as quiet as a mouse! Full of fun language and beautiful illustrations.
Dozens of Donuts by Carrie Finison, illustrated by Breanne Farley. When Louanne the Bear starts making donuts in her kitchen, she’s prepping her food for winter—except her friends keep stopping by to taste them. Pretty soon her kitchen is bare. Will this hungry bear have food for winter? I love this book because bears love donuts!
Paddington by Michael Bond, Illustrated by R.W. Alley (one book in a series of many, including chapter books). With a suitcase and some marmalade, this bear is sent to England on a ship with a sign around it’s neck that reads, “Please take care of this bear.” Follow Paddington’s life with his new family. There are also two movies about Paddington! Read the stories and then compare them with the movies.
A Book for Bear by Ellen Ramsey and Mackenzie Haley. Bear loves books. He wants a book of his very own, so his best friend, Ellen, tries to sneak him into school, a library, and a bookstore…but adults do not approve. Then Ellen comes up with the best plan of all.
Don’t Feed the Bear by Kathleen Doherty, illustrated by Chip Waas. It’s a food fight like no other—Ranger versus Bear. Bear wants to be fed people food, but the park ranger keeps putting up signs against it, forcing Bear to wage war against the ranger. A funny read aloud with some truth about not feeding bears.
Bear in a Bathrobe by Maddie Frost - Bear loves his bathrobe…and staying inside. Because who knows what could happen to a bear outside! A funny book about being willing to try new things.
The Truth About Bears: Facts About Your Favorite Animals by Maxwell Eaten. This hilarious book is formatted like a graphic novel (hello, talking bears!) while also being chock-full of bear facts!
Winnie: The True Story of the Bear Who Inspired Winnie-the-Pooh by Sally M. Walker, illustrated by Jonathan D. Voss. This is a really sweet true story about Winnie, a bear cub raised by a veterinarian and soldier during World War I.
Backyard Bears by Amy Cherrix. This books is a very thorough book about wildlife conservation efforts, specifically regarding the black bear population in Ashevill, North Carolina. With lots of facts and photographs, this book is great for any reader who’s interested in learning about bears, conservation, and how humans and wildlife can learn to live together.
Chapter Books and Middle Grade
Julie of the Wolves by Jean Craighead George. While this story isn’t a fully focused bear story, it’s a classic about the Alaskan wilderness and bears are involved! When a young Inuit girl finds life to be dangerous in her community, she runs away but finds herself lost in the Alaskan wilderness. She survives by copying the patterns of the wolves.
Winnie the Pooh by A.A. Milne. For over ninety years, Winnie-the-Pooh and his friends—Piglet, Owl, Tigger, Eeyore—have enchanted readers as “live” characters who interact with the young human, Christopher Robin.
Bear Country by Doreen Cronin, illustrated by Stephen Gilpin. Part of the Chicken Squad series, this is very silly story about a mixup that leads to a misadventure!
Bonus books that any bear is sure to like
More Blueberries! by Susan Musgrave, illustrated by Esperança Melo. Any bear would love this book because it’s about one of our favorite treats! And it’s fun to read aloud.
The Cow Who Climbed a Tree by Gemma Merino. I like this book because it is ridiculous and funny because a cow would never climb a tree (though many bears would). And dragons don’t exist. Or do they?
Discuss
Do you have bears near your town or city? If so, how far away?
If you saw a bear in the wild, what would you do?
Have you ever seen a bear in a zoo? What kind was it? How did seeing the bear make you feel? Excited, scared, or maybe both?
If your teddy bear was a wild animal, what type of bear would it be? What would it eat?
What’s your favorite type of bear? Why?
Can you think of any other books that belong on the beary best book list?
Do! Try one of these beary fun activities this week.
Go see bears at the zoo! But maybe you can’t go to the zoo in person. Did you know zoos have live cameras on many of their animals? The cameras are static, meaning they don’t move with the animals, so sometimes you won’t see anything, but it’s fun to pull up a zoo camera and see if you can see them! Here are some links to bear habitats at zoos:
Billings, Montana - Grizzly Habitat
Alaska Zoo - Polar Bear Habitat
San Diego Zoo - Polar Bear Habitat
Maybe you’re in the mood to get crafty? If you want to make your own bear puppet with supplies you likely have around the house, check out this cutie:
You’ll find directions at Simple Everyday Mom.
Some other activity ideas:
Have a story time with a stuffed bear (they love it when you read to them).
Pretend you are a bear. Maybe you’ll want to eat blueberries and find a nice den to curl up in. Or go for a swim and pretend to catch salmon. What else might you do?
Have a book and movie night. Maybe Paddington or Winnie the Pooh?
Watch a nature show about bears.
Listen to some bear tunes. Here are a few that I like:
Print and color this week’s coloring page:
If you share about your experiences with the Summer Challenge on social media, use the hashtag #RDDSummerChallenge2025 so we can see it! You can also tag us on Instagram.
In case you missed it:
Find more information and more printable activity pages here:
Note: Some links will take you to the Read, Discuss, Do bookshop.org storefront. Purchasing a book from the storefront will support independent bookstores and help maintain Read, Discuss, Do at no additional cost to you.
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This is a great round up - I’d also add “A Visitor for Bear” and the rest of that series by Bonny Becker to the list. The absolute richest vocabulary I have ever come across in a modern picture book and it’s funny too!
Oh also - There’s a bear in my Chair! A classic and the rhythm is just excellent.