The Bear That Heard Crying by Natalie Kinsey-Warnock and Helen Kinsey

The Bear that Heard Crying is written by Natalie Kinsey-Warnock and Helen Kinsey and illustrated by Ted Rand.

Genre: Children
Sub-genre: Fiction
Theme: Never give up even when it seems hopeless
Primary and Secondary Characters: Sara Whitcher is the primary character. The bear, Mama and Papa are all secondary characters.
Awards: This book has won no awards.
Publisher and Date of Publication: Penguin Group; 1993
Summary and Uses: This book is a wonderful story which is based on true accounts. Sara Whichter, a three year old girl, gets lost in the woods of New Hampshire in June, 1783. She is searched for by family members and neighbors for four days. On the last day, a man named Heath shows up and says he knows where to find Sara because he had a dream. They found Sara curled up beside a pine tree. There were bear tracks all around her, but the searchers never saw the bear. Sara later said that a "big black dog" took care of her. In my classroom, I would have the students choose a character (Mama, Papa, Sara, the bear, Heath).  I would have them write a diary entry from their perspective. They could write their entry before Sara gets lost, during the search, or after Sara's return at the end of the story.