Joseph Bruchac is the author of Skeleton Man, The Return of Skeleton Man, Bearwalker, The Dark Pond, and Whisper in the Dark, as well as numerous other critically acclaimed novels, poems, and stories, many drawing on his Abenaki heritage. Mr. Bruchac and his wife, Carol, live in upstate New York, in the same house where he was raised by his grandparents. You can visit him online at www.josephbruchac.com.

From Joseph Bruchac, the author of the award-winning middle-grade thrillfest Skeleton Man, comes another creepy tale inspired by the folklore of indigenous Americans.

Baron has always been fascinated by bears?their gentle strength and untamed power. But the Bearwalker legend, passed down by his Mohawk ancestors, tells of a different kind of creature?a terrible mix of human and animal that looks like a bear but is really a bloodthirsty monster.

The tale never seemed to be more than a scary story . . . until a class camping trip deep in the Adirondacks, when Baron comes face-to-face with an evil being that is all too real.