Anthony J. Marolda
Writings
Writings
Polar bears have long been a part of our family's lore. Both Matt and Ria and their spouses are graduates of Bowdoin College, and, of course, the polar bear is Bowdoin's mascot.
So, it is not surprising that one of our many Christmas decorations involves polar bears. We have a family of bears, a mom and three cubs, with wreaths around their necks. Their usual location is on the dining room mantle. As we were preparing for the Christmas of 2019, I was arranging the bears. The mom had two of the cubs up close to her, and the third was off to the side looking rather forlorn (see above). A Children's story immediately sprung to mind.
The forlorn bear was a boy cub named Howard, who tended to be rowdy. The other two were his well-behaved sisters, Tillie and Isla. The boy was being punished for some misdeed, and his sisters were enjoying it immensely.
Howard had many adventures in their Arctic home, and they are revealed in my first Children's book, "Howard to the Rescue!". The cover is shown above. To the right is the painting for the cover, "Howard's World". The bears are on the right side of the painting because that is the position of the Front of the cover.
As the Frontispiece, I usedThe Bear Hug", a watercolor painting I did several years ago, and shown on a previous page. Only now it's title has changed to "Howard's Hug".
So, it is not surprising that one of our many Christmas decorations involves polar bears. We have a family of bears, a mom and three cubs, with wreaths around their necks. Their usual location is on the dining room mantle. As we were preparing for the Christmas of 2019, I was arranging the bears. The mom had two of the cubs up close to her, and the third was off to the side looking rather forlorn (see above). A Children's story immediately sprung to mind.
The forlorn bear was a boy cub named Howard, who tended to be rowdy. The other two were his well-behaved sisters, Tillie and Isla. The boy was being punished for some misdeed, and his sisters were enjoying it immensely.
Howard had many adventures in their Arctic home, and they are revealed in my first Children's book, "Howard to the Rescue!". The cover is shown above. To the right is the painting for the cover, "Howard's World". The bears are on the right side of the painting because that is the position of the Front of the cover.
As the Frontispiece, I usedThe Bear Hug", a watercolor painting I did several years ago, and shown on a previous page. Only now it's title has changed to "Howard's Hug".
