THE CAULDRON OF THE FOREST WITCH

Another adventure in The Green Bear series!

Do you have an unlived dream?

And if so, is there some way of making that dream a reality, if need be in an adjusted or scaled-down way?

All adults are ex-children. Somewhere within us still live all the children we ever were and occasionally we see the world through their eyes again, just for a moment! If we are lucky, we had parents who encouraged us to be our true selves (not what others want or need us to be!) and and to reach our full potential. And also to keep a sense of childlike wonder and magic alive, well into adulthood. There is a big difference between the words childlike and childish!

I was teaching at my Forest School in Sweden a few weeks ago and one participant, a proud grandmother (“Oma”) from Germany called Irene Klage, told me how much her grandchildren love the books in The Green Bear series.  She asked me to take her to the rock in the Forest that is The Green Bear, so we could make a video for her granddaughters. And so we did! The picture below shows Irene in the Forest in Sweden, by the rock that is The Green Bear.

For me that is a very big dream come true: real children reading my magical picture books and asking for more stories. What is The Green Bear going to do next? Are the twins Linnea and Lars going on more adventures soon? (Irene sent me the picture below from Germany, with permission to use it in this blog).

The thought has occurred to me that some dreams do not come true (or only later in life) because there was another task to be accomplished first. In my case I now believe that task was becoming a teacher of sacred art and the indigenous/ancestral wisdom teachings of Northern Europe (in a time of stepping away from counter-cultural appropriation, which refers to practicing a spirituality that is not our own and does not reflect our ancestry or the land we live on).

It was only after I answered that call and opened my Forest School in Sweden (bringing people, with Northern European origins, home to land where the voices of the ancestors once again sing in their blood) that this dream came true.

The Covid-19 Pandemic washed over us and we were all forced into repeated Lockdowns. Suddenly I could not travel all over the world and teach in person (as I am now doing again). Time took on different properties. It both contracted and expanded simultaneously. The luxury of planning became a joke. Life felt even shorter and more precious, with a dangerous virus lurking everywhere. I asked myself: is there a dream I can realize, even stuck at home during a Lockdown?

That lifelong dream was writing and illustrating a series of picture books for young children. Just before the pandemic, the key concept had already presented itself. One night in Sweden I dreamed that one large rock, located in the forest behind our house, morphed into a She Bear. She tapped me on the shoulder and said: I am the Green Bear! I take children on adventures! I want to offer modern children, who live in the Digital Age, a roadmap to other worlds. Also a spiritual toolkit, so they can keep the magic alive well into adulthood. A set of spiritual tools to help them handle the challenges life throws at everyone, big and small. I want you to write those stories down and illustrate them!

I was excited about the concept but where would I fit this into the schedule of a mother-of-three working full time? As it turns out, Lockdowns were the answer! I wrote the first two books in fairly rapid succession. I published them in 2021. Writing the stories only takes a few hours but making all the illustrations (including a wrap-around book cover) takes months.

I enjoyed myself hugely!  I secretly dreamed of doing this full time. For me it would be a blissful existence to lose myself in the one magical story after the next. In making enchanting illustrations full of details (and full of hidden ”sub” stories which are not explicit in the text but told by the activities of animals in the pictures).

Creating The Green Bear Series was like creating a parallel world. I had to work out what the main characters (other than The Green Bear) looked like. Also who their parents, their friends and their pets are! What objects they keep in their bedroom and on their window sill. What their kitchen looks like. How these twins keep some secrets from their parents and how exasperating their parents are, but also how much they all love each other. That is family life!

In illustration work there are a number of rules. One of them is consistency of character. Children need to recognize immediately who appears on the page. I needed to figure out how my characters (twins called Linnea and Lars) move and dress, their facial expressions and quirks. In other words: I need to draw them in a large variety of situations and poses, showing different reactions and emotions, but they clearly need to be one and the same person!

Another consideration is that these stories need to have a strong anchor in everyday reality, so that children in the 21^st century can identify with the characters and believe in them. But the stories also need to transport the readers to other worlds, where the “normal” everyday rules do not apply. Worlds were the Milky Way is a real road and animals are wiser than human beings! I needed to map out the path to the Forest of Fairy Tales and more destinations in other worlds.

The wrap-around cover illustration for the first book!

I decided to self-publish the books on Kindle KDP because I want full editorial control (read: intellectual and spiritual freedom!) I feel that too much focus on political correctness in the world of children and YA (young adult) publishing is killing off the spirit of innovation and creativity in both authors and young minds.

And of course spirituality (let alone shamanism) is not exactly a popular subject in that world. I have four conventionally published (non fiction) books “out there” (and I am currently working on two more) but I will not accept any limits imposed on my picture books for children.

We live in a time of Cancel Culture, which is really a modern term for “witch hunts”. People are (metaphorically) burned on the basis of pointed fingers (and often little evidence of actual wrong-doing). People lose their reputation, jobs and livelihood overnight, for not agreeing with the dominant narrative. I am 56 and self-employed, I am beyond all that! And isn’t it peculiar that “witch” is, until today, both an insult and an all time favorite character in picture books for children?!

I now have the best of many worlds! I am back to teaching in many exciting locations (as well as running my Forest School in Sweden) but I also have children reading my books in different countries, even on different continents. The feedback and questions I get from them (passed on by their parents or grandparents) make my mind and fingers itch to get more books out. I constantly scribble ideas and dialogues in my art diary. I sketch out future characters. I keep a record of cool names and details. A small part of my brain is always working on the next magical story. I am always open to suggestions and ideas from young readers.

Illustration from the first book: Lars and Linnea climb out of their bedroom window to go on an adventure with The Green Bear!

The Green Bear thinks that I am a bit slow on the illustration front. I actually work quite fast but I wear so many hats and hold down so many other jobs! She doesn’t care. She would like my life to be entirely in service to her, to magical stories from Spirit!

Anyway, this most recent book is about a Forest Witch and Magic (which will surprise no one who knows me in person!) The next book will tackle a more difficult subject: the death of a pet. Death is part of life and I want Linnea and Lars to model a way of handling the death of a much-loved animal which involves calling on help from spirit allies and otherworld beings.

Where the Milky Way is a real road in the night sky!

You can find all my books on amazon. I thank all (grand)parents for translating if your (grand) children are not English-speaking! The next segment of this blog offer a brief description of both the series and the four individual books.

THE GREEN BEAR SERIES

General introduction

The Adventures of the Green Bear is a series of full color picture books for young children (aged 3 – 8 years old). Toddlers get a lot from the pictures but older children understand more of the layers and mystery teachings embedded in the stories.

Linnea and Lars are twins. They live in a cottage in the forest in Sweden and they have many friends in the same location (human, animal, tree and star friends!)

In the forest surrounding their house, there are many big rocks and boulders (left there by glaciers in the Ice Age), covered in moss and lichen. One of those rocks is really a bear in disguise. She sleeps and dreams most of the time.  But on certain days, mysterious Green Days, The Green Bear awakens and takes the twins on nocturnal adventures while their parents sleep.

So far those adventures include a trip down the celestial road that is the Milky Way, a visit to the enchanted realm of the Animal Mothers and the Forest of Fairy Tales. And now a lesson in Magic from the local Forest Witch!

These books aim to provide a fun learning experience but also a fundamental introduction to subjects such as the night sky, the mysterious workings of the Deep Forest and a spiritual (shamanic) toolkit.

Where to order

All books in The Great Bear Series are available from amazon as both hard copies and e-books. All hard copies are printed locally, not shipped from the UK.

Please consider leaving a review! Reviews on amazon are HUGELY appreciated because they help other families find the books. And reviews do not need to be long thoughtful essays. You can even leave a review by typing in just two words, e.g. “More please!” is an awesome endorsement!

#1 THE GREEN BEAR: Lars and Linnea visit the Bears in the Night Sky!

This book offers a playful and magical introduction to the night sky, as seen overhead in the Northern Hemisphere. It introduces children to five key star constellations (Ursa Major or Big Bear, Ursa Minor or Little Bear, a dragon called Draco, a lion called Leo and a Lynx).They continuously spin around the Pole Star (Polaris) and have inspired many myths.

Twins Linnea and Lars live in a cottage in the forest. They are many large rocks and boulders in that forest, covered in moss and lichen. This book reveals the secret that one large rock is really a bear. On certain days of the year The Green Bear awakens and takes children on adventures. The Green Bear guards planet Earth and her twin Sister in the night sky (Ursa Major) stands guard over our solar system.

Lars and Linnea embark on a nocturnal adventure and meet some of the animals in our night sky. They will need to get home before the sun rises and their parents wake up. However, on the next Green Day the Green Bear will take the children on another adventure!

#2 THE GREEN BEAR: Lars and Linnea learn Animal Communication and Shape-Shifting!

The Green Bear awakens. It is the magical night before another Green Day! She collects Lars and Linnea and another adventure unfolds. This time they travel down a hollow tree trunk to an enchanted Forest in another world. This is the Forest of Fairy Tales but it is also the place where the Animal Mothers live! The Animal Mothers watch over their animal children in our world. They watch over human children too! Human children can visit the Animal Mothers to learn the ancient arts of animal communication and shape-shifting. Linnea and Lars receive wisdom teachings from the different Mothers of animal species. They practice shape-shifting by turning into twin polar cubs. The Green Bear drops them off at home only minute before their parents wake up and a regular school day starts.

#3 GREEN DAYS: The Green Bear Shares A Secret!

In the Forest a Green Bear sleeps and dreams. Her dreams make magical things happen in our world, Earth World.

Linnea and Lars are twins. They live in a cottage in Sweden. In the forest surrounding their house there are many big rocks and boulders, deposited there by glaciers during the Ice Age. Those rocks are green because they are covered in moss and lichen.

On certain mysterious days of the year, so called Green Days, this bear awakens and takes children on adventures. This book explains what Green Days are!

#4 THE GREEN BEAR: The Cauldron of the Forest Witch!

This book offers a playful exploration of magic and magical powers with serious undertones!

Twins Lars and Linnea live in a cottage in the forest. Not far from their house The Green Bear is always dreaming up adventures for them. Today he takes them on a visit to the Forest Witch. They travel through dense fog to the Gingerbread House, where she lives with her pet lynch and other animals.

She invites them to cook up some serious magic in her Cauldron and, along the way, Linnea and Lars learn what Magic is and isn’t. They soon realize that everyone works magic, no matter whether they know this or not!

Imelda Almqvist, London Art Studio, UK