The Bear Who Wasn’t There And the Fabulous Forest by Oren Lavie and Wolf Erlbruch

A magical, lyrical picture book debut from acclaimed composer and playwright Oren Lavie, illustrated by beloved German illustrator Wolf Erlbruch.

Young Readers 2 to 10 years

And for grown-ups who yearn for stories that skip along with word play and make them laugh even after repeated readings. Illustrator Wolf Erlbruch pulls readers into to an evolving landscape where we get a glimpse of bear and his friends' inner life. Best read aloud.

One day, a few minutes after Once Upon a Time, a bear awakes to find he has lost something very important: himself! He sets out into the Fabulous Forest to find himself, using only a few clues scrawled on a piece of paper: the bear he’s looking for is a nice bear; he is a happy bear; and he’s very handsome too! These sound like pretty good qualities to Bear, and so begins his memorable journey. With the help of Fabulous Forest critters like the Convenience Cow, the Lazy Lizard, and the Penultimate Penguin, Bear finds that he himself is just what he’s been looking for all along: a nice, happy bear—and handsome too!

As whimsical as Winnie-the-Pooh and as wryly comic as Klassen’s bear who wants his hat back, The Bear Who Wasn’t There joins a select crew of unusual bears who have captured the imagination of children for generations.

Hardcover book 2016

Black Sheep, Imprint of Akashic Books