The Bears on Hemlock Mountain
Recommended. Age: 7+. A Catholic review of this book for parents.
Our review
A small boy is trusted with a real job, gets scared, and keeps going anyway. That is the whole story, and it is a good one. He is kind to animals, he owns up to dawdling, and his father comes for him. The one reservation: the bears are scary for a sensitive child, and readers say the ending implies the men shoot one.
For parents
Read aloud from 5, independent reading from 7. Plugged In says 6 to 9. Ask what Jonathan kept telling himself on the mountain, and whether that is the same as being brave. Ask what he did wrong at his aunt's house and how he made it right.