About this book

"Imaginative and poetically resonant." -- Kirkus Reviews

"Considers nature's way of connecting us to ourselves and to others...poetically expresses feelings of dislocation, vulnerability, and strength." -- Quill & Quire, starred review

Oh, to be a bear in the forest! To rest and play, day after day, always feeling safe and at home. But when change fills the air, and it's time to journey into a different kind of wilderness, will it ever feel the same?

This sensitively imagined story illuminates the difficult transitions we all must face as we learn how to be 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