The Good Bear

A story of friendship to treasure this Christmas . . .

From the bestselling author of A DOG CALLED HOMELESS, this is the perfect Christmas gift for fans of Michael Morpurgo, Lauren St John and Sara Pennypacker's PAX.

It’s the Christmas holidays and Thea is looking forward to spending them with her father. She can tell him all about her plans to become a writer, and maybe he’ll buy her the typewriter she’s been dreaming of.

But when Thea arrives in snowy Norway, everything feels . . . wrong. Her father is as distant as ever and now she has to share him with his new family: his girlfriend Inge and her children. Then Thea makes a surprising discovery. Deep in the snowy woods by the house, is a bear. He’s scared and hungry and he desperately needs Thea’s help.

When the town hears about a bear living in the woods, Bear’s life is in even greater danger. Thea needs to show everyone that he’s not dangerous – he’s a good bear – if she’s to save him.

A gorgeous Christmas story for readers aged 9+ that will warm your heart and take you on an adventure you will never forget. Beautifully illustrated by award-winning illustrator Fiona Woodcock, the artist behind Abi Elphinstone's The Snow Dragon.

About the Author

Sarah Lean grew up in Somerset with a fascination for animals after a stray cat walked in the back door of the family home. She now lives in beautiful Dorset and has a husband, a son and two naughty terriers. She has worked as a page-planner for a newspaper, a gardener and a primary school teacher, amongst many other things. After studying at university in her 40s, she gained a First Class English Degree and a Masters in Creative & Critical Writing.

Sarah is the author of several children's novels, including the bestseller A Dog Called Homeless, winner of the Schneider Family Book Award in the US, the Hazelgrove Book Award, as well as being shortlisted for Sheffield Children's Book Award and longlisted for Brandford Boase Award. Her motto is welcome anything unexpected that comes your way.

About the Illustrator

From an early age Fiona knew that she wanted to earn her living drawing. Since graduating from Glasgow School of Art she has been working freelance in London on animated films, commercials, animation artwork for West End shows and illustration work.
She explores a variety of subject matter through self-initiated and commercial work, deriving inspiration from new places, brilliant people, bold patterns, structures and subtle details in everyday life.

All the projects she works on have a paper based handmade origin. She likes to work with a combination of pencil, paint, charcoal, children's blow pens, cutting stencils and experimenting with print techniques whilst dreaming up new characters and stories.