EcoLit Book Review: Bear Boy by Justin Barker
In 1995, thirteen-year-old Justin Barker was begrudgingly browsing a used bookstore with his dad when he came across PETA founder Ingrid Newkirk’s Kids Can Save the Animals: 101 Easy Things to Do. Within days, young Justin learned about animal abuse on factory farms, went vegetarian, practiced his newfound phone advocacy skills, and started his own investigation of the Sacramento Zoo. This was the beginning of Justin’s career as a teen activist, which would soon bring global attention to his advocacy for Ursula and Brutus—two bears stuck in a small cage in Roseville, California.
