• Age: 9 to 12
• Grade: 4 to 7
• Reading age: 9 to 12

Key Selling Points

• Features an iconic but often misunderstood wildlife species.
• Grizzly bear protection and hunting rules are hotly contested topics.
• Empowers children to make a difference in the world by taking action and profiles several young people who have been directly involved in grizzly bear conservation.
• Highlights the latest developments in grizzly bear conservation research, such as using computers and artificial intelligence to individually identify grizzlies in images captured by trail cameras.
• Profiles Indigenous conservationists and knowledge keepers, and highlights the importance of grizzlies in Indigenous cultures and how that informs conservation efforts .
• Author is a biologist who worked on a project with grizzlies in the Khutzeymateen/K'tzim-a-Deen Grizzly Bear Sanctuary in Northern BC. Her research and participation in that project played a part in that area being designated as Canada's first and only grizzly-bear sanctuary.

Frances Backhouse studied biology in university and worked as a park naturalist and as a biologist before becoming an environmental journalist and author. Her six previous books include Once They Were Hats: In Search of the Mighty Beaver and Children of the Klondike, which won the 2010 City of Victoria Butler Book Prize. She lives in Victoria, British Columbia, with her partner, Mark Zuehlke, who is also a writer. Frances loves exploring the natural world both close to home and far away, especially when those explorations involve tent-camping. If there’s a beaver habitat nearby, it’s even better.

Frances Backhouse's profile page

• Long-listed, The Nature Generation Green Earth Book Award - Young Adult Nonfiction
• Commended, Children’s Book Council & National Science Teachers Association Outstanding Science Trade Books
• Commended, Junior Library Guild (JLG) Gold Standards Selection
• Commended, School Library Journal (SLJ) Best Books - Nonfiction
• Commended, Junior Library Guild (JLG) Gold Standard Selection
• Commended, CCBC Best Books for Kids & Teens

★“Offers kid-friendly explanations...An important book for helping kids see past the stereotypes of terrifying grizzly bears and join the call for conservation.”

School Library Journal, starred review

“The writing is clear and engaging and benefits from the author’s specific experience working with bears…Organized well for research…An excellent addition to any school or public library collection.”

Children's Literature Comprehensive Database (CLCD)

“This phenomenal book is a must for anyone with even the slightest interest in bears. Even someone who isn't particularly interested in learning more about grizzlies likely won’t be able to resist being drawn in. Highly Recommended.”

School Library Connection

“A high level of expertise, up-to-date research, thorough topic treatment and appealing presentation…Readers will come to appreciate a magnificent creature's struggles to maintain its place on this planet that we share. Highly Recommended.”

CM: Canadian Review of Materials