BEAR

The powerful, humorous yet sensitive story of Jasper, a talented young artist, who learns to face his anger.

Thirteen-year-old Jasper Robinson-Woods is not okay. His name is too long, he never sees his dad, he can't sleep and his goldfish is dying. Jasper hides in the tree in his front garden to find some quiet, and to get some peace from the nightmare he keeps having. It could be a sign his life is seriously in danger. Things go from bad to worse when his mother announces her annoying boyfriend is moving in. When his mostly-absent father arrives on the doorstep to take him on a road trip Jasper begrudgingly finds himself away with his father. In terrible timing, it is while he is away that his goldfish dies and Jasper is forced to face yet again one of his greatest fears, death. His nightmare even comes to visit Jasper in the night, coming to life and destroying the house they are staying in. Furious, his father takes him home, to the safety of his tree. Jasper then lashes out at school, and destroys a precious piece of art owned by his mother's boyfriend. He is suspended from school and finally realises things must change. He goes to see the school counsellor and starts understanding his nightmare, and what it truly represents. This is the story of a young man who learns that even when you hit rock bottom, you just don't know what, and who, is around the corner. Kiri Lightfoot is an NZ-based author and actor. She has worked as a scriptwriter in children's television and as an actor both for theatre and screen. She continues to work part-time in television and also runs poetry reading sessions in aged-care homes and hospitals with charity 'Active Arts'. Bear is her first novel for young adults and was inspired by working with young people at this time. Kiri is now a mother of three school-aged children and lives in central Auckland. Her previous books are picture books: Ming's Iceberg, illustrated by Kimberly Andrews (Scholastic 2021) and Every Second Friday, illustrated by Ben Galbraith (Hodder Children's Books 2008), a shortlist in the New Zealand Post Children's Book Awards 2009.