I'm Bear!
(How Chester Got His Name)
by
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"I’m glad God made me. I’m Bear . . . Bear . . . Bear!" The tiny ant sang and flashed a winning smile. His words echoed loudly in the cave where he and Mom were gathering food. In the gray light of autumn, a harsh wind pounds. A dead leaf fluttered here and there and covered the frisky ant like a blanket. "You missed one." Mom said, pointing to the wild blueberry and motioning for him to pick it. He turned, stumbled a little and stepped gingerly toward it. Up, up the rambling vine he climbed. The view from here was great but he was too out of breath to do more than take a quick glance at it. At last, puffing and panting he stopped. It felt good here in the dark coolness. The faint smell of garbage in the air added to his excitement as he reached for the wild berry. Mom stood nearby smiling at him. Her warm, brown skin flushed with excitement. The sprinkling of freckles across her nose was more noticeable because of it. "He’s here!" The little ant shouted, spotting a big brown bear. The furry lump was packed in a cob webby corner, hibernating like a tattered, toffee wrapper. "That corner is much too small for him and his 850 pounds!" He said thoughtfully. A bright smile rushed into his chubby cheeks. "Don’t get too close." Mom said as her ropy arms pulled a heavy load. This tallish, thin woman had a work worn, curvy figure. Her green checked apron and ankle-length red dress, hung on her the way it might have hung on a fashion model. The tiny ant gazed carefully at the giant bear as it swallowed a huge yawn. "I love that bear!" The little ant squealed and made his very large jaws smile. This upbeat ant had a smile that captured the sun and radiated joy back tenfold. So what if he didn’t know much about bears! He was happy walking past the bear wiggling his antennae. The joyful, snoring, up-side-down, crazy certainty of this bear came at him like a rolling rain storm. "His legs have knots where the legs bend!" The crushing suddenness of this great bear drenched him with relief. "I can’t see his whole body . . ." His eyes hurried to catch up. "Ouuu!" he giggled, looking closer at the long and gently curving bear. The little ant raised his wide eyes over the cross-legged bear. He clustered closer and followed the blurred trail ¾
Sometimes out loud, sometimes silently, behind a pair of racing eyes. "That’s what I want to be when I grow up."
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About the Book
This spunky ant adores the big, brown bear hibernating in the cave. Mom warns of the danger, but he’s smitten. This story chronicles the beginning of the first stages in his life. He comes from a colony of worker ants and is pushed to forage by his Mom. But deep inside Bear knows he’s got bigger things to do, mainly because he’s Bear! His name proves it. He lets Mom know his feelings. It’s a statement that leaves Mom silent and this curious ant, bursting with life, pushing for his dream. The furry wilderness of the brown bear feels like home and he quickly starts on this journey. His curiosity comes to a sudden halt when mangy worms, rotten teeth and a barreling tongue turn his tiny world up side down! In this dark hour he talks to God, to the ghosts and demons in his mind and to his own soul. Nothing works. It’s a life and death battle that soon begins to destroy him.
About the Author
Andrea Ross has worked many years in theatre, television and films as writer, performer and wardrobe stylist. Film credits include Ghostwriter/Children’s Television Workshop and her children’s show, "Storybook Castle," which won the Time Warner Cable Award for "Best Achievements in Children’s Television." She’s appeared on CBS News and featured on Martha Stewart Living Television. Ms Ross has been published in Spider Magazine, by May Davenport and received praise from media, librarians and teachers. Ms Ross writes and performs children’s stories and poems as part of The Young Readers Network and the Learning Leaders Author’s Read-aloud Program in the New York City Schools. She is Head Wardrobe Stylist for CBS Television in New York City. Ross developed Chester Earth AntÒ
– a popular character that supports literacy projects for children in the New York City Schools and libraries. Chester stimulates children with adventures that motivate and draws from their strengths for a fun-filled journey of self-discovery. He also jump starts their creativity by encouraging children to express their views about the characters and their actions in the stories, which helps them express their world and experiences. Chester Earth Ant and Tony the Tiger helped children learn in a literacy carnival sponsored by, Children’s Television Workshop, McDonald’s and National Spanish Promotions. During his spare time, Chester visits children in hospitals and homeless shelters.