Lily to the Rescue: The Three Bears

W. Bruce Cameron's Lily to the Rescue: The Three Bears is an animal story for 7 year olds about a dog, her girl and a search for some missing bear cubs.

What happens

Lily tells the story herself, and she's very sure about most things. Maggie Rose is her girl. Squirrels are rude. And napping is one of her main skills.

Maggie Rose's mum is a vet at an animal rescue. One day her dad, a game warden, brings in a huge sleeping bear who's been shot by a poacher. The good news is that the bullet only grazed her shoulder. The bad news is that she's had cubs this winter, and nobody knows where they are.

So the whole family heads up into the mountains to help. Maggie Rose and her big brothers Craig and Bryan are told to stick to the path round Echo Lake. Do they stick to it? Of course not!

First they try to help a baby elk get back to its mum. Then they realise they're lost. And thanks to a mix-up, Mum thinks the children are going home with Dad and Dad thinks they're going home with Mum.

Being inside Lily's head is super funny. She doesn't understand half of what the humans say, so she fills in the gaps. Marmots are big lazy squirrels who live in holes. Coyotes are "not-dogs". And she can't see why people drive all the way to a car park when there's nothing to do there (she has a point).

The brothers bicker about EVERYTHING, right down to who's "dumb to infinity". Maggie Rose hates it. Anyone with older brothers or sisters will probably recognise the moment she finally tells them to stop.

Then they pull together, which is lovely to read. They build a shelter from branches and dig out a bed like a dog's. Bryan has packed three jars of peanut butter, and they all cuddle up with the dogs to keep warm.

A night lost in the woods, with coyotes about and a fox shrieking in the dark, could sound a bit much. But everyone looks after each other, and Lily is always right there. If your reader gets nervous about the dark, that part might be a nice one to share at bedtime.

What to read next

If this one goes down well, Lily and Maggie Rose head up into the mountains with Dad in The Not-So-Stinky Skunk, where a whole colony of prairie dogs needs moving to a new home.