Bear with Me

A familiar story about first-day-of-school fears and the kind of friendship that helps you overcome them. For children ages 4 years and up.It’s the first day of school and Max is terrified! But he’s sure that Mr. Kalamazoo, his stuffed bear, will protect him. Only . . . not so much. Things get totally wild! Luckily, just when it looks like the day will be a complete disaster, a mysterious classmate opens her backpack . . .

Featured on CBCBook’s April Hot Off the Press!

David Michael Slater is an acclaimed author of books for children, teens, and adults. He teaches in Reno, Nevada, where he lives with his wife and son.Davilyn Lynch was born and raised in Melbourne, Australia, where she would spend most days drawing, escaping into a world of creativity and wonder. She grew up in an inspiring household surrounded by her father’s abstract canvasses on every wall. After the distractions of life, it wasn’t until her first child came along that she rediscovered her love of drawing and decided to make it a major part of her life. With the help and support of her husband and close friends she was able to make her dream a reality and became a children’s book illustrator. Being born biracial, (Filipino and Caucasian) Davilyn grew up in a community that was predominantly white and suffered discrimination due to others seeing her as ‘different’. Davilyn wants to make sure she sends a positive message to young readers through her character illustrations that diversity among children and families is completely normal. Davilyn is self-taught, letting her passion and creativity be her guide in the picture books she works on.