Winter Of The White Bear is a lavishly illustrated picture book about Little Bear whose happy life in the Great Forest is suddenly changed by the arrival of an unwelcome visitor: White Bear. When White Bear forces Little Bear to come with him and hunt for him in the northern Ice Lands, Little Bear must dig deep inside herself to find the inner strength to escape. Exciting, touching and thought-provoking, Winter Of The White Bear is a picture book like no other.
Every illustrated project starts with a point of inspiration. In ‘Winter Of The White Bear’ that point came in the form of paintings by Martin.
Little Bear’s character evolved slowly over the development of the book. Initially seen as ‘cute’, this was eventually deemed to be running counter to the theme of the book. She shifted in stages, gradually becoming less anthropomorphic and more ‘real’…all, of course, in the service of the best way to tell the story.
The evolution of a style: from initial sketchbook simplicity through to a richer visualization of the universe of ‘Winter of the White Bear’ as both ‘real’ and ‘fantastic’. For fable to work effectively there has to be both.