Jump to ratings and reviews
Rate this book

Lily to the Rescue! #8

The Three Bears

Rate this book
From W. Bruce Cameron, the New York Times bestselling author of A Dog's Purpose , comes an irresistible chapter book series--Puppy Tales--featuring Lily, a rescue dog who rescues other animals!

Lily lives with her girl, Maggie Rose. Once a stray, Lily was rescued by the kind people at the animal shelter run by Maggie Rose’s mom. Now she has a very important to rescue other animals in trouble.

Two bear cubs are lost in the woods without their mother. It’s Lily to the rescue!

144 pages, Paperback

Published March 29, 2022

14 people are currently reading
216 people want to read

About the author

W. Bruce Cameron

97 books4,494 followers
I’ve always loved dogs, which puts me in a unique category along with what, maybe two or three billion people?

What’s not to love about an animal who will sit in your living room all day long, waiting for you to get home, and even if you need to work late and then stop for a stress-relieving beverage on your way home, when you unlock that front door, is absolutely overjoyed to see you? How could you not adore an animal who senses when your day is not going well and tries to cheer you up by dumping a sodden tennis ball in your lap?

I was probably 8 years old, playing in the back yard of our house in Prairie Village, KS, when my dad opened the gate and in rushed a 9-week-old Labrador puppy. I fell to my knees and spread my arms and that dog leaped into them as if we had loved each other our whole lives. It’s a scene that shows up in A Dog’s Purpose—a puppy and a boy meeting each other the very first time, both of them full of unrestrained joy.

We named the dog Cammie. She arrived in my life when I was just beginning to connect some of the dots in my memory to make a picture of who I was, forming my identity as a child. I remember every skinned knee and bicycle ride in the context of Cammie, who was always there for me. And I lost her just as I was starting to leave childhood behind, passing on after I’d spent a year in college. That’s Cammie, the dog of my childhood.

Years later I was riding my bicycle in the mountains outside of Pine, CO. A chance decision to bounce down a dirt road led me past a few scattered ranches and one small house near a creek, set back from the road at least 50 yards. A single “woof” from a dog caught my attention, and I braked and stood in the dry, clear air, regarding the dog who had called out to me.

She was on a chain by the house, and a fence stood between us, so I remained on the road even though I could see that the dog, a black lab mix with a crazily active tail, was clearly friendly. I gazed at her and the dog sat, attentive, staring into my eyes exactly the way my first dog, Cammie, used to look at me, really seeing into me.

And that’s when the thought hit me. What if this wonderful dog was Cammie? What if dogs live over and over again, and always remember us?

I dismissed the thought, waved at the dog, and rode away, but days later the idea came back to me. What if?

I’ve been a writer my whole life, but never have I ever written anything as important as A Dog’s Purpose.

I can’t promise you that A Dog’s Purpose will make you love your dog more—how could it do that? But I’ll tell you what a lot of people have told me: after reading A Dog’s Purpose, you’ll never look at your dog the same way again.

Ratings & Reviews

What do you think?
Rate this book

Friends & Following

Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!

Community Reviews

5 stars
45 (54%)
4 stars
18 (21%)
3 stars
18 (21%)
2 stars
1 (1%)
1 star
0 (0%)
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
Profile Image for Classic reverie.
1,855 reviews
April 3, 2022
Another cute "Lily to the Rescue!" story but with three bears. I enjoyed Bryan, Craig and Maggie Rose's adventure together which of course included Lily and Brewster.
I have been enjoying the whole Lily series and look forward to reading more.



Highlight (Yellow) | Location 144
“What’s wrong, Mom?” my girl asked. “Did something bad happen with the bear?” “Where’s Dad?” Craig wanted to know. Mom pursed her lips. “The bear’s fine. I cleaned the wound and stitched it up. But when I examined her, I realized that she’s got cubs. She gave birth this winter. I can’t
Highlight (Yellow) | Location 147
tell how many, but she’s had at least one. Your dad left to change his uniform and go back up into the mountains.” “Babies?” Maggie Rose replied. I nosed her hand because she seemed worried, and needed to know she had a good dog by her side. “How come Dad didn’t see the cubs when he found the bear?” Bryan asked. Mom shrugged. “They might have been hiding. Dad didn’t know to look for them, but he knows now, and he’s getting some people from
Highlight (Yellow) | Location 152
his department to try to find them. Hopefully before nightfall.”
❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌spoiler alert❌❌❌❌❌❌



Highlight (Yellow) | Location 187
“Then we need to find them!” Maggie Rose said, a flicker of worry in her voice. Out the window I saw a dog walking with a man. I barked, though Brewster did not. “Lily, no!” my girl scolded.
Highlight (Yellow) | Location 190
Why was she cross with me when Brewster was the one who forgot to bark? In fact, Brewster had decided to lie down and drool a little on Bryan’s shorts. He doesn’t understand about car-riding behavior. He should have watched me—I would have shown him what to do. Instead, he fell asleep.
Highlight (Yellow) | Location 384
Everyone was quiet for a moment. Brewster still stared hard into the trees, but I was focused on my girl. I knew she and her brothers were worried. “They’re hunting,” Craig said. “They’re hunting us?” Maggie Rose gasped.

Alarm flashed off of her skin. Craig shook his head. “No. Two young coyotes wouldn’t come after three humans and two dogs. No, it’s the elk calf they’re after. That’s why it’s been running away. Somehow the coyotes got between it and its
Highlight (Yellow) | Location 389
mother, and now we’re between it and the coyotes.” “We have to protect the baby!” Maggie Rose said. “That’s what we’re doing,” Craig told her. “All we have to do is stay between the calf and the coyotes, and it’ll be safe.”
Highlight (Yellow) | Location 406
Brewster is older than I, and sometimes I wonder if there have been things in his long life that make him a little careful about other creatures. Maybe that’s why he naps all the time—because he’s tired from all the things that have happened to him.
Highlight (Yellow) | Location 472
Craig paused, frowning. We all waited for him to do something, though I didn’t know what. I looked up at Maggie Rose. “Are you sure this is the right way, Craig?” she asked. Craig shook his head. “No, not completely. Listen.” He reached into his backpack and pulled out a phone. “I’ll just call Dad.” “He’ll be mad at us. We left the trail,” Maggie Rose said. Craig sighed. “Yeah. I know. But I think we have to—oh.”
Highlight (Yellow) | Location 477
He was looking down at the phone. “What’s wrong?” Maggie Rose asked. “The battery’s dead,” Craig said slowly. “We can’t call anybody.” “So we’re really lost?” my girl asked in a small voice.
Highlight (Yellow) | Location 690
I woke up a short time later. Faintly, very faintly, dancing on the
Highlight (Yellow) | Location 691
air, I could hear voices far, far away. They were calling names that I recognized. “Maggie Rose!” “Craig! Bryan!” One even called, “Lily!” I wagged, but I knew I should not leave my girl, not even with someone yelling my name. I could tell they were some distance away, anyway, and I never went far from Maggie Rose if I could help it. After a while, the voices stopped calling. Silence came back to the night. Brewster sighed, and I closed
Highlight (Yellow) | Location 696
my eyes, wondering who the people had been.

Highlight (Yellow) | Location 872
“Yes, sir,” Bryan replied. “Lily found them, and then Brewster tracked back to where they were hiding. We gave them peanut butter.” “Where are they?” Mom asked.
Highlight (Yellow) | Location 875
The children turned and pointed up into the tree, where Squawker and Brother were gazing down silently. They were probably thinking about climbing back down and finishing off what was left of my peanut butter.

A momma bear is wounded and needs surgery but where are the baby cubs? The kids help out in looking for them but in getting lost actually find them and save a baby fawn.
Profile Image for Becky.
6,180 reviews303 followers
February 9, 2023
First sentence: Everyone knows that Maggie Rose is my girl, and I am her dog. Even squirrels know, because they see me coming at the end of my leash, and they scamper quickly up a tree and then stare down at me.

Premise/plot: This Lily-to-the-Rescue book might contain the most action of all in the series. After a mama bear is "rescued" and brought into surgery, it is learned that she has recently had cubs. They need to be found quickly. The whole family sets out [perhaps with some other workers/employees] to look for the bear cubs. Lily, of course, goes along. As does the family's other dog. Bryan, Maggie Rose, and Craig are only supposed to look for the cubs on the trail....but when they follow a deer off the trail, well, this grand adventure turns into a misadventure fast. Can these three siblings and two dogs survive in the mountains all night long?????

My thoughts: I would say this one was so compelling I had to read it in one sitting, but, I read all the Lily books in one sitting. Nevertheless, it was packed with action and adventure. There are some "in peril" moments that would have definitely had me on the edge of my seat if I'd been younger.

I do enjoy this series. If there were more books [there don't appear to be anymore at this point] I would definitely read them.

Profile Image for Rebecca.
685 reviews3 followers
May 18, 2024
As an adult reading a kids’ book, I’m wanting, & picking on, some details. e.g. How’d they get the cubs out of the woods, & they really left the peanut butter jars—their trash!—in the woods?! But allowing for it being simplified for a kids’ book, it’s good. I am disappointed the series was not made available on audio.
3 reviews
March 29, 2022
W. Bruce Cameron never disappoints. Lily is my favorite puppy character! It’s technically a young reader book but I love it. Now I’m going to go back and read the whole series again starting from book one!
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews

Can't find what you're looking for?

Get help and learn more about the design.