In New Zealand where I live, we don’t have bears, so New Zealanders are intrigued by them and want to see them in the wild.

While I was working in the U.S., my friend and teacher (yes, adults have teachers too) was due to go back to New Zealand.  She desperately wanted to see a live bear before she returned home.

We were working in a school near Glacier National Park in Montana and thought that the park would be a good place to look.  Besides it was a stunning place to visit.  We stopped frequently and looked at the view all the way along the road and were always hoping to spot a bear.  We had a wonderful day, but no bears showed themselves to us.

Later, as we explored the gift shop, I laughed and said to Jan, “These are the only bears you’ll see today!”

That set me thinking how our day would make a great story.  I wrote it, and when the editor read it she thought it would be a good idea, and a bit of fun for the reader, to hide bears in the illustrations. 

Neither Jan nor I ever did see a live bear before we went back home to New Zealand.  But you can read about our adventures in Looking for Bears.  (Sometimes there is more to the scenery than first catches the eye.)