Little Bear

Little Bear is retold by author Dawn Casey and illustrated by Amanda Hall and is their second collaboration following the success of Babushka. Dawn Casey’s retelling reinterprets a folktale from Greenland. Little Bear is published by Wisdom Tales in January 2022.

This is a tender story about the importance of love and connection, with a profound message about recognising when it’s time to let go, not to restrict a creature’s or a child’s growth. It tells of an old woman, who, unlike the other women in her small, arctic community, has no children. She finds a tiny polar bear cub all alone on the ice and takes him home to look after him. The story is about their relationship as he grows and what happens at a moment of crisis, and the subsequent decision the old woman is then faced with. Both the author and illustrator carried out extensive research to give this picture book cultural authenticity and Little Bear has a foreword by Inuit poet, translator, and politician Kelly Berthelsen.

Amanda’s soft, luminous illustrations for this picture book were created using a mixture of watercolor inks and pastel crayon. The images include double page, single page and vignette illustrations, with stunning endpapers that depict the aurora borealis.

Email Amanda via her contact form and your inquiry will be forwarded to her licensing agent.

Little Bear

Retold by Dawn Casey. Foreword by Kelly Berthelsen

“Rooted in an Inuit folktale from Greenland, this picture book celebrates the reciprocal relationship between humans and nature. When a lonely old woman finds a bear cub freezing on the ice, she adopts him as her own. He grows up in the village, becoming beloved by all as he plays with the children and helps the men hunt. When he is attacked by hunters from another village, the old woman heals his wounds—and comes to realize that it is time to let go.”

— Forward Reviews/ Danielle Ballantyne