Otis Knows (How to Be a Bear)
Liz Garton Scanlon author Martha Brockenbrough author Stephanie Laberis illustrator
Format:Hardback
Publisher:Simon & Schuster
Publishing:4th Jun '26
£12.99
This title is due to be published on 4th June, and will be despatched as soon as possible.
Inspired by the life of a real Alaskan brown bear named Otis, who rose to internet stardom during Fat Bear Week, this heartwarming picture book invites young readers to celebrate their differences and embrace their individuality.
Otis sleeps his deep and heavy sleep.
He dreams his Otis dreams.
And he’ll wake when he’s ready, in his own way, in his own time.
Why?
Because Otis knows.
While other bears emerge from their dens on the first spring morning, Otis is still sleeping. While other bears chase slippery salmon through the water, Otis catches them from his own special spot by the river. While other bears play and tussle, Otis naps.
Why? Because Otis knows something we can all get behind: the best way to be…is to be yourself, in your own time and in your own unique way.
Inspired by a real brown bear—a denizen of Alaska’s Katmai National Park & Preserve, and repeat Fat Bear Week champion—this sturdy picture book advocates industrial-strength patience and unflappable self-knowledge. After hibernating through the Alaskan winter, bears awaken with bellies like “hollow pockets, growling to be filled,” Scanlon and Brockenbrough write. The animals trudge to the river where salmon are running. . . while “other bears are younger. Faster. Stronger,” Otis doesn’t worry. Across digital drawings that resemble contemporary animation, Laberis portrays the bear as rakish, rumpled, and wise: he waits for the perfect spot, eats unhurriedly, and occasionally naps, knowing that “what does matter is being a bear in his own way, in his own time.” It’s an energy worth bearing in mind when the world demands keeping up. -- Publishers Weekly * 2/23/2026 *
ISBN: 9781665970815
Dimensions: 279mm x 216mm x 8mm
Weight: 467g
40 pages