Beyond The Bear: Companion Reads for Every Age

The Bear, this year’s One Book, One Laramie County selection, is a powerful story that many readers may find themselves finishing quickly. If you’ve already turned the final page—or expect to soon—you’re not alone.

To keep the conversation going, Laramie County Library System has curated a list of companion reads that explore themes found in The Bear, including survival, the natural world, resilience, and the connections between people, animals, and the landscapes they inhabit.

While The Bear is written for adults, readers of all ages can join the experience. These companion titles offer meaningful ways for children, teens, and adults to explore similar ideas through stories of wilderness, adventure, identity, and our relationship with the natural world.

Explore the companion reads below, organized by age group, to find your next book.

Children’s Fiction

The Day the Earth Rose Up by Alfreda Beartrack-Algeo (2022)

When seven Lakota sisters venture deep into the forest to gather chokecherries, they are surprised and chased by a giant bear. As they huddle together on a rock ledge and pray for help, the earth rises up, taking them out of reach of the bear. A great eagle rescues the Seven Sisters by taking them to the Star Nation, where they become the Pleiades star formation we see in the night sky.

The Bear and the Moon by Matthew Burgess (2020)

When the gift of a balloon floats into Bear’s life, the two companions embark on a journey of discovery as small as a clearing in the forest . . . and as deep as the sky.

Ancestor Approved: Intertribal Stories for Kids edited by Cynthia Leitich Smith (2021)

Edited by award-winning and bestselling author Cynthia Leitich Smith, this collection of intersecting stories by both new and veteran Native writers bursts with hope, joy, resilience, the strength of community, and Native pride.

Lore of the Wild: Folklore and Wisdom from Nature by Claire Cock-Stacey (2021)

Lore of the Wild delves into traditional nature folklore from around the world, revealing the influence of trees, plants, insects, birds, animals and weather on daily life. Brought to life with folk art-inspired illustrations, Lore of the Wild inspires engagement with the beauty of the natural environment.

Middle Grade Fiction

The Wild Robot by Peter Brown (2016)

Roz the robot discovers that she is alone on a remote, wild island with no memory of where she is from or why she is there, and her only hope of survival is to try to learn about her new environment from the island’s hostile inhabitants.

The Birchbark House by Louise Erdrich (1999)

Omakayas, a seven-year-old Native American girl of the Ojibwa tribe, lives through the joys of summer and the perils of winter on an island in Lake Superior in 1847.

Northwind by Gary Paulsen (2022)

When sickness decimates his fishing camp, an orphan named Leif flees north in a cedar canoe, journeying along a brutal but beautiful coastline.

The Last Cuentista by Donna Barba Higuera (2021)

Petra Peña is twelve when she and her family board one of the last ships leaving Earth just before its imminent destruction by comet. As the remaining Earthlings struggle to survive, all of the cuentos — stories — Petra grew up listening to will turn out to be more powerful than she could have imagined.

Companion Reads for Teens

The Switch by Roland Smith (2022)

On the day of Henry Ludd’s thirteenth birthday, the power goes out. No phones, no news, people descending in lawlessness– and in the chaos, Henry’s father has gone missing.

Lost Boy by Jay Martin (2023)

In the aftermath of a deadly car accident in the remote Wyoming wilderness, a young boy escapes as the sole survivor. Stranded, freezing and without anyone around to help him, he struggles to stay alive as he attempts to find his way back to civilization.

Be Not Far From Me by Mindy McGinnis (2020)

Lost in the Great Smoky Mountains, rising high school senior Ashley Hawkins must fight for survival without any tools, growing in awareness that the world is not tame, and neither are people.

Cold the Night, Fast the Wolves by Meg Long (2022)

On a frozen wasteland of a planet, a girl is on the run with a wolf who is born to be a killer but bound to be her guide. As they fight to escape ice goblins, giant bears, and a ruthless leader intent on trapping them both, one question drives them relentlessly forward: where do you turn when there is nowhere to hide?

Hatchet by Gary Paulsen (1987)

After a plane crash, thirteen-year-old Brian spends fifty-four days in the wilderness, learning to survive initially with only the aid of a hatchet given him by his mother, and learning also to survive his parents’ divorce.

Adult Fiction

Pearly Everlasting by Tammy Armstrong (2024)

Set in the Great Depression, this novel about a girl and a bear raised as sister and brother examines the lengths to which they’ll go to protect each other.

A Psalm for the Wild-Built by Becky Chambers (2021)

Centuries after robots gained self-awareness and vanished, a tea monk’s life is disrupted by a robot fulfilling an old promise to check in.

The Innocents by Michael Crummey (2019)

Two orphans forage for survival on an isolated Newfoundland cove during years marked by storms and ravaging illness, before the mystery of their nature tests the limits of their bond.

The Archer by Paulo Coelho (2020)

A young man seeks wisdom from a retired hunter who explains how the principles of bowhunting can help readers find the courage to take risks and embrace life’s unexpected turns.

North of the Sunlit River by Jessica Bryant Klagmann (2025)

Eila Jacobsen is adrift, reeling from her father’s recent death and still suffering from the loss of her best friend. When invited to join a research trip to a remote part of Alaska, she takes the chance to refocus her life and perhaps unravel the mystery behind the dwindling caribou population. But as Eila buries herself in data, she stumbles across something remarkable. Concealed in the pages of her father’s journal is a discovery with life-changing possibilities. So why was it abandoned?

Awake in the Floating City by Susanna Kwan (2025)

In a flooded city, grieving artist Bo is drawn back to life by a prickly elderly neighbor, Mia, whose stories and memories inspire her to find purpose in documenting their disappearing world and reclaiming her art before it’s lost forever.

Lone Dog Road by Kent Nerburn (2025)

Fleeing a government agent, two Lakota boys journey across the Dakota plains to replace their great-grandfather’s sacred pipe in a powerful tale of survival, identity and the deep connection between land and people.

The Great Alone by Kristin Hannah (2018)

Alaska, 1974. Ernt Allbright came home from the Vietnam War a changed and volatile man. When he loses yet another job, he makes the impulsive decision to move his wife and daughter north where they will live off the grid in America’s last true frontier. But as winter approaches and darkness descends, Ernt’s fragile mental state deteriorates. Soon the perils outside pale in comparison to threats from within.

Adult Nonfiction

A Walk in the Woods: Rediscovering America on the Appalachian Trail by Bill Bryson

Bryson share his experiences hiking the Appalachian Trail with a childhood friend.

Was It Worth It? A Wilderness Warrior’s Long Trail Home by Doug Peacock

In a collection of gripping stories of adventure, Doug Peacock, loner, iconoclast, environmentalist, and contemporary of Edward Abbey, reflects on a life lived in the wild.

Keep Reading with the Community

One Book, One Laramie County is about more than reading a single title—it’s about sharing stories, ideas, and perspectives as a community.

If The Bear left you thinking about wilderness, survival, and the connections between people and the natural world, these companion reads offer new ways to continue the journey.

Visit any Laramie County Library System location or explore the library catalog online to find these titles, and mark your calendars for An Evening with Andrew Krivak on May 2.