About this book

Once I lived in a forest of tall trees . . .

A little bear passes the days splashing, climbing, tumbling and thumping, feeling safe and surrounded by forest friends. When he senses change in the air, it’s time to curl up for a long, deep sleep. But when he wakes, he’s a boy in a different world, one with loud noises, tall towers and strange faces. Can he find a way to feel the same again?

This sensitively imagined story encourages anyone who reads it find their own way to be joyfully at home in the world.

Reviews

Praise for Once I Was a Bear: “[Encourages] the appreciation of one’s own story and recognizing different experiences of loss and change. Imaginative and poetically resonant.” — Kirkus Reviews

“Irene Luxbacher’s new picture book considers nature’s way of connecting us to ourselves and to others . . . Transitions, transformations, and distinctive perspectives are elegantly evoked in Luxbacher’s signature watercolour, acrylic, and collage illustrations. The text poetically expresses feelings of dislocation, vulnerability, and strength . . . Inspired by Luxbacher’s son, who is on the autism spectrum, Once I Was a Bear tenderly asks the deeply personal yet universal question, “Would others understand me?” — Quill & Quire starred review