Bear and Fox: The Northern Trail picture book

Bear and Fox: The Northern Trail picture book tells a story of forest animals looking for winter. I got the idea of a story about a bear trying to find snow after I drew a lonely polar bear for an article on  the extinction of species for the Helsinki University magazine. Another illustration I made for the magazine was on the endeavour of conservation of the endangered Saimaa ringed seal in Eastern Finland. The animal needs snow to build a nest for its pups and volunteers help by shoveling it on their nests. Even transferring seals to a lake in Lapland, northern Finland has been suggested.

Another article in Helsingin Sanomat daily newspaper described how birds in Finland migrate every year 1,6 km north. At the same time there was a lot of discussion on human migration and its root cause being the climate change.

I wanted to create a story about striving together to build a better life for everyone. The story is more about adaptation and friendship than trying to stop climate change. Animals cannot do much to change the warming climate and I didn’t want to make the children’s story too gloomy.

The story of Bear & Fox was first published as a sticker book in Finnish in 2018, and a picture book in 2019 in Finnish and Estonian. The story is also adapted to Sáme, a Lapp indigenous Sámi people language, as an ebook and a mobile game.

I hope you enjoy reading my story of the adventure of Bear and Fox and their friends!

– ULLA SAINIO
author, illustrator