A Boy and His Bear

Dickon is a young boy whose merchant father encouraged him to learn and study, but his new stepfather has apprenticed him to a tanner, a gruesome position that is ill-suited to the boy. He is miserable, particularly since the tanner's wife doesn't like him and is always needling him, until one day he is sent to carry a message to the Master of the Bear Pit, the location of bear-baiting, a place that we would find horrific but was considered back then to be a form of entertainment. While there, a terrified cub flees from its tormentors and straight toward Dickon! Amazingly, his kindness and gentle touch calm the beast, and the surprised Master offers to save the cub if Dickon will teach it to dance. From there on, Dickon's life is filled with adventure, new friends, old friends, enemies and danger. This is an exciting book for middle schoolers, a good novel at exploring another time, introducing the ideas of how we treat animals, the place of children in society and the system of apprenticeships that was in place at that time. We used this as a reader while we homeschooled Elizabethan England, and it was a fine supplement, probably best treated as a read-aloud for 4th and 5th grade or a suitable read-alone novel for older kids. The author does a fine job of illustrating the similarities between kids even in different time periods, and paints a vivid picture of England in the early 1600s. There's even a cameo appearance by Will Shakespeare!

This book is a great one that shows the trials and tribulations of a young boy. This story is set in London, England and the main character is Dickinson. Dickinson's father died and he is forced by his new step-father to become an apprentice. He has a master who he cannot disobey, however, if he does obey him, he will not be able to keep the bear that he has grown to love and care about. Graham allows the two to grow very close and become great friends. Friendship is something that is very important and very well illustrated by Graham. The journey that Dickinson goes on shows that younger children have great strength and courage. He becomes determined that he is going to set the cub free before he is harmed, causing himself many dangers. This book is told mainly through the point of view of Dickinson, but it does also include the point of view of the bear. I highly recommend this book to anyone who is interested in books which include the elements of friendship, courage, and love.

Having just completed a wonderful exploration of Elizabethan England, and as a lover of animals, I was intrigued by the combination of these two themes in this book. The characters, human and bear, are unforgettable. The scenes of mistreatment are haunting, especially since they are based on fact. As a school librarian, I would recommend this book to kids older than 5th grade who want a gripping adventure that shows what it was REALLY like in Shakespeare's England. But beware--the powerful depiction of callousness and savagery is NOT for everyone. This book will stay with you long after you have read it.