Mentor Text Monday - The Bear and the Sequel

by Lynne Marie

We are currently gearing up for our 3rd annual 2025 March On With Mentor Text event! Be sure to follow our blog keep your eyes open for our official announcements. 

As Director of Rate Your Story and Developmental Editor at The Picture Book Mechanic, I come across and critique many, many, many books that feature bears. After all, the nod to childhood teddy bears is sweet, and who doesn’t love a great bear? But it’s particularly important to make sure that your bear character and story feels fresh and new and stands out. Look at books like Mother Bruce by Ryan T. Higgins and I Don’t Like Koala by Sean Ferrell, which are exceptional in that way! 

Today, we’re going to look at a bear book, as well as its sequel. 

The Bear and the Piano by David Litchfield (Clarion Books, 2015)

Jacket Copy: One Day, a bear cub finds something strange and wonderful in the forest. When he touches the keys, they make a horrible noise. Yet he is drawn back again and again. Eventually he learns to play beautiful sounds, much to the delight of woodland friends. 

Then, the bear is invited to leave the forest and share his sounds with his new friends in the city. He longs to explore the world beyond his home, to hear new things, and to play bigger and better than before. But he knows that if he leaves, the other bears will be very sad…

As can be seen from the summary, this is a new and different story about a bear. While somewhat adult in sensibility, it works on some levels. Does the character need to be a bear? Perhaps so, for the subtle theme that music soothes the savage beast. Does it have a child-friendly message? It does have some really nice takeaways which can be shared with a child. One, that sometimes, when something doesn’t turn out quite like we envision (like the bear pounding on the keys = not music / a writer penning a first draft = not yet a story), that we should reapproach it and not give up (persistence). And, also, that friends are more important than fame and that we should remain true to ourselves.  And, the art is wonderful!

I usually don’t tend to like books which show success and/or stardom in this light, but here it works, as the author likely needed to stack the deck to make his sacrifice, when he chooses fame over friends, even greater.

For those looking for comp books where people speak with animals, this is one of them. However, please note that it is 10 years old, and be sure to do further research. And, the bear did learn to play the piano like a human, so I guess if we believe that, we can suspend other beliefs as well. This is also a comp for books that are set in New York City, as the bear goes to Broadway. 

The Bear, the Piano, the Dog and a Fiddle by David Litchfield (Clarion Books, 2018)

Jacket Copy: Hector and Hug are best friends. Together they’ve had good times, bad times and even some crazy times. Through it all, Hector has played his fiddle, and Hugo has been his biggest fan. 

Then one day, Hector decides he’ll never be a star and quits – even though it’s what he loves to do most. Hugo misses the music and secretly learns to play the fiddle himself. Soon a famous piano-playing bear invites Hugo to join his all-animal band and travel the world with them, performing for huge crowds – an opportunity that Hector has always dreamed of. 

Can Hector swallow his pride and learn to be happy for his friend before it’s too late?

Here, Hector is an old man whose act is “yesterday’s news.” He is an adult, but arguably, a child-like adult in that he hasn’t learned to be happy for his friend’s success (as a proper adult should), rather than be childishly jealous. 

The bear who is the main character in the first book kind of appears out of nowhere and it’s a bit jarring since we last left him in the forest, surrounded by loving friends. But here he is, in New York City again. The book doesn’t quite show where this story fits into bear’s character and plot arc in the first story. The art, however, is beautiful, and as always makes any and all perceived story or character flaws more palatable. 

However, if you are looking for a comp book on bears, pianos, and/or jealousy, this would be one. Also human / animal friendships. 

I hope you enjoyed exploring these two stories with me. And for those following my editor journey, keep reading my posts to get a sense of what I am looking for in a story.