Moon Bear is a fantastic book that follows a boy called Tam, who lives in the mountains. When disaster strikes and his father is blown up by a bomb, General Chan, the person responsible for the welfare of all the surrounding land, orders Tam to travel to the city to work at a bear farm for the cruel bear doctor of the city to earn money for his family. He grows accustomed to this new life but longs for home.
When Söku-dîi, a bear cub, arrives, Tam recognises the cub from his home in the mountains, and he knows he must find a way to get the two of them home. But how??? Tam must pull off a dangerous scheme that involves General Chan's daughter herself, who is on the brink of death.....Can Savanna (General Chan's daughter), Tam and Söku-dîi reveal the doctor for the abomination that he is and get them back to where they belong??? And what will become of their new friend when her father finds out what she's done????
The reason I like this book is that it paints a very clear picture of what is going on. Whenever you run into anything new, the author creates such a vivid image that you can see everything laid out in front of you; it's like you're actually there, watching the scene unfold before your eyes. It's also very easy to totally fall in love with the bear cub, Söku-dîi. I really loved this book - I didn't put it down for an hour and a half until I'd finished it, at which point I started to read it again.