Mabel Meets a Black Bear

When an enterprising 10-year-old Mabel lures a black bear to a picnic table outside her family’s rental cabin in the Great Smoky Mountains, her twin sister Louise is injured, setting both on a mission to teach others about how to stay safe and keep bears wild.

This rhyming picture book for ages five to ten pairs charming, sensitive illustrations with a timely environmental conservation message.

When the adventurous Mabel goads her shy sister Louise into sneaking out of their family’s rental cabin in the middle of the night, she’s delighted to see that her secret plan to lure a black bear with leftover French fries has worked. But when the startled bear injures her sister Louise, Mabel discovers that making human food available to wild animals can have serious consequences. With help from their parents and a friendly wildlife biologist, the twins learn how to be responsible environmental stewards in bear country and grow up to educate others about how to safely coexist with black bears.

An educational bonus section developed by the national BearWise® organization provides real-world guidance for safe food and waste storage in bear country. Additional sections profile the regional Smokies BearWise and Appalachian Bear Rescue–an organization that rehabilitates bear cubs who are orphaned in and around Great Smoky Mountains National Park.

Mabel’s environmental theme addresses a pressing issue relevant to communities near wild areas all over the world. When bears can easily access the foods humans eat and feed their pets, they may no longer forage for their natural foods and instead become “food conditioned,” further increasing the chances of human-bear conflict and perpetuating dangerous patterns of behavior, which are passed on to their young.

Mabel Meets a Black Bear depicts the harmful and sometimes-deadly effects of irresponsible behavior in bear country and offers inspiring, grassroots solutions for wildlife advocates of all ages.