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The Babysitter Tree

by Molly Beth Griffin

A bear cubs’ safe place

Regular price $19.13 USD
Regular price $31.89 USD Sale price $19.13 USD
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AlbakiReads Editorial

A bear cubs’ safe place

A white pine takes on the role of caretaker while a mother bear forages, giving her cubs a place to play and shelter together. When a coyote’s scent changes their afternoon, the story turns to the cubs’ need for safety and their trust in the care surrounding them. Grounded in described black bear behavior, the book connects this forest scenario with the familiar experience of a child being left with a sitter and missing a grown-up. Acrylic and colored-pencil illustrations depict the cubs and the protective scale of the pine.

Good fit for readers who enjoy

  • Children ages 4–8 experiencing time with a babysitter or caregiver
  • Young readers interested in bears and animal behavior
  • Caregivers seeking a picture book about separation, safety, and reassurance

Themes

Caregiving and trustSeparation and reunionSafety and protectionBlack bears and forest life

Based on publisher information and book metadata.

Book overview

Young black bears tumble and spar, rest and recharge, and--most importantly--find safety and security in the shaded sanctuary of a white pine tree.

When a mama black bear goes foraging, she leaves her cubs with their babysitter--a huge white pine tree--where they'll be safe until she returns. They are sad to be left behind, but soon they are playing in the shade of the tree. All is well, until a coyote's scent sends them climbing high into the branches. Will mama come back? Will she scare the danger away? The cubs discover that their mama will always take care of them, even when that means leaving them with another trusted caretaker.

Based on the real behavior of black bears in the wild, The Babysitter Tree is for every child who has been left with a sitter and has missed their grown-up. It is for all of us, at any age, who appreciate reassurances that we will be cared for, protected, comforted, and eventually reunited with the ones we love most. And it is for all the wonderful babysitters and caregivers who help our little ones feel safe--and who make parenting possible.

Charming illustrations in acrylics and colored pencil capture the roly-poly playfulness of bear cubs and the expansive, protective branches of that icon of the northland, the white pine, their babysitter tree.

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