The Missing Grizzly Cubs (The Wild World of Buck Bray) Paperback – September 1, 2016

My 11 year old just read this and then immediately wanted to read it again! What more can I say! He loved the fact that the story was full of facts. This is the first novel I’ve gotten him to read because he normally only wants to read non-fiction. Thank you for writing a fiction novel chuck full of animal and nature facts and doing so in an engaging and realistic way.

We bought this book for our grandson. He called and could not quit saying how he "LOVED it".

The kids enjoy this book

Loved the book....

I was excited to read a kids' book set in Denali National Park—and Alaska in general.But…I wanted it to be realistic. And though the descriptions of the scenery and wildlife were cool, I almost think the unrealisticness did a disservice to Denali and nature in general. Examples [SLIGHT SPOILER ALERT]. The book opens with Buck getting charged by a moose. Okay, I can swallow that. But then they get to Denali National Park and three of the four main characters see bears almost immediately. Then, in the first half hour out of the car, the two kids witness a bear taking down a caribou! Yes, this happens sometimes. It rarely happens your first 30 minutes on foot in the park. The next day they see bears—I think twice—and once it's a fantastic close-up experience. Granted, the ranger IS guiding them by then, but still. They see more bears every day. They're hiking and a whole herd of caribou passes right around them. They see Dall's sheep as soon as they start looking. They see plenty of other wildlife. And it seems like the mountain is visible at least 3.5 of the first 5 days. [END SPOILERS]I'm not an expert on Denali, but when we were there the mountain stayed hidden for all three days, and everyone said it was unusual to actually see it in your first few days. We saw a mama bear and her cubs from a moderate distance, and lots of caribou, and a couple of small specks of sheep, and it was fantastic. But to cram all Buck's amazing experiences together in just a few days…at best it's unrealistic. At worst it will set people's expectations so high they won't be happy with what they DO see.Other elements that were unrealistic: the coincidence of three sets of main characters seeing each other at the airport before their adventure begins. I think this was the Anchorage airport, but it may have been Fairbanks. Either way, what are the chances they'd all come in at the same time and notice each other? And that most of the key players would camp at the same campground? And the compass course? It seemed like they didn't get much actual instruction at all, and then they went on a "compass course" with only one point? Maybe I misunderstood, but this does not make you an expert. Yet, after that, Toni and Buck seemed pretty skilled, both with topo maps and compasses. And speaking of Toni and Buck…some of their dialogue didn't really ring true to what kids would say off the cuff. Okay, sorry. It was just all so unrealistic it frustrated me.The mystery was okay.The writing was generally pretty smooth.The behind-the-scenes stuff about shooting a TV show was cool.I did really like the descriptions of Denali when they weren't being unrealistic. It brought back happy memories.I think people who aren't so concerned with reality will really enjoy it.