Review
A well-written tale, with beautiful pictures, designs and illustrations, gives us once again the outstanding writer and painter Zanna Mela-Florou.
Respecting absolutely all difficult roles of pedagogy and ecology, writes a fairy story to delight and teach the tender age of youth. The text is lush, entertaining and why not, novel of its kind. Special care has been taken to assure the quality of the writing and pictures, both essential to the reader's enjoyment.
'Other Flight' Magazine, Cultural Centre of Olympic Airways,
Issue 36, October-December 2003
Title: Inside the Bear's Lair
Author - Illustrator: Zanna Mela-Florou
Copyright 2014 Zanna Mela-Florou
ISBN: 9781311036315
Copyright Information
All rights reserved. Republication or reproduction of the present work in whole or in part by any means, as well as its translation, adaptation or any exploitation of its text or illustrations is prohibited according to the provisions of the Berne-Paris International Convention. Also prohibited is any reproduction, distribution or transmission of the layout, pagination, end papers and cover and of the aesthetic appearance of the book more generally, in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods.
Prologue
A member of "ARKTOUROS", the Centre for the Protection of the Bear, the author has written a book with an especially personal style, in order to make children sensitive to the danger of extinction of the bear, an animal which they have only seen dancing in a circus.
The painting -her own- in every page with different illustrations of the... protagonist is very attractive. In the lovely Bear story, the Protection Centre is mentioned as well as the need for the animals to live in their natural environment.
Ageliki Varella, author
'Diadromes' magazine, issue 47, autumn 1997
Inside the Bear's Lair
Chapter 1 - Awakened after a long sleep
Our story, children, begins in a forest. A lynx, the wild cat, is taking a rest on a rock. She's staring at the entrance of the cave right in front of her. But what do you think she is looking at?
She's watching a bear that is slowly coming out of the cave, stretching her legs and yawning, as if she'd been sleeping for months!
It seems that the two animals are chatting. But what would a wild cat and a brown bear have to talk about? Why don't we get closer to find out?
-Hello, my dear bear! We've not seen you around for a long time! Where have you been?
-Oh, I've been sleeping, my dear lynx. I've been hibernating!
-You don't say! Really! You've been hibernating... the bewildered cat replied.
-Cold weather makes me feel sleepy, my dear lynx, and the first snow sends me to my lair.
Only this time I didn't pass the winter in sleep alone. I had my children with me - hidden in my belly!
-I see. But, tell me, my dear, why have your fat cheeks and your round belly grown so thin?
-Because I've not eaten for many months, my dear lynx. You see, I live in my fat... and in spite of that, my two young cubs live on my milk, in my furry bosom!
-Ma! Mammy!
-Can you hear them, dear lynx? They're my sweet babies! My cubs are calling me to suckle them. Do you believe me now?
-Of course I believe you, the cat replied in an admiring way! You are a very diligent bear, since you've given birth to two cubs and you've been raising them while... hibernating and living on... absolutely nothing! Bravo!
-And when I'm done, dear lynx, I lick and clean their fur...
The brown bear's eyes were gleaming with joy as she was talking about the precious treasure she was hiding inside her lair!
-Well, this is how I usually spend my time, my dear cat -loafing about. But sometimes, I fall asleep. What else is there to do? Though one day I decided to leave my cave and look for something to eat - but it was so cold outside... I could have frozen to death! Anyway, I couldn't care less! And you know why? Because I can feed on... dreams! In my last dream we quarrelled over a small piece of land! We, who've been friends for so long, became enemies! No sooner had you gone than I changed my mind. I wished I had not driven you away. I started looking for you everywhere. I wanted to apologize - but I couldn't find you anywhere.
Chapter 2 - The stolen babies
Now listen to the important part of my dream, dear lynx:
When I got back... What did I see? The cave was empty! Someone had stolen my babies! Can you imagine my anxiety? I started to run and run... following the tracks left by the hunter.
His footprints led me to a strange, beautifully lit place. All around it hundreds of colourful balloons were moving through the air. I looked carefully at Doll and Dolly who were dancing on the stage, and tried to identify my cubs.
Doll was a small elephant who had disguised himself by wearing orange trousers and rings in the lobes of his big ears.
Dolly was a young bear whose lips and nose were made up in red lipstick, wearing all kinds of cheap jewellery. She looked so ridiculous!
Poor animals! So obedient, so submissive! A teardrop rolled on the mother-bear's breast.
-Ma! Mammy!
-Do you hear them, lynx? I have to go now. I got carried away chatting; I forgot to feed my babies. -So, bye-bye my dear.
And so the bear said goodbye to her neighbour and hurried back to her dark cave.
-Goodbye! -Farewell, the big cat mewed. It's getting dark. It's high time I went hunting. I've got my cub to feed, too. But first of all I must move out of here!
There was no doubt about it -the bear's dream had a terrible impact on her.
These were the thoughts of the rare cat when she carefully seized her cub by the scruff of the nape and took it to her new hiding place. Her instinct urged her to change her whereabouts often. Then she leapt out of her lair and disappeared into the thick forest...
All her friends were back: the pelican, the cuckoo, the stork. The slow tortoise was even there too! She was up from her deep sleep, and like every animal in the forest, she was welcoming the spring.
I took it upon myself to paint the pictures of my short story one by one. But mother bear's repeated yawning made me feel sleepy. I must have taken a nap child -how else can I explain this- because it seemed to me I was a kid. Then, suddenly, the picture came to life -the young bear's red mouth moved: Her voice reached my ear in a whisper.
-I can laugh, I can move,
Zanna, even you, I can fool
I can try - it's my task
It's not that easy - I've got my mask!
The tamer's whip
His horrid chain
Changed my whim
Into a lot of pain!
She felt a lump in her throat and stopped - tears appeared in her eyes.
Then I noticed the heavy chain hanging from her pierced nose. I lost my head.
-Look, my dear Dolly, I said to her. I'll paint a protest demonstration of animal lovers - I'll do it at once!
...Right outside the circus where you're working...
Chapter 3 - In a protection centre and back to freedom
-Here you are my little bear. You're as good as free now. From now on you'll live in this natural reserve -the Centre for the Protection of Bears. Here you'll enjoy plenty of food and free medical care. And I'll come and see you as often as possible. I'm a member of the Centre and a volunteer, too, I boasted.
Dolly's mouth moved again:
-What you're saying, Zanna, is very important. There's no doubt about it. But I want to have a family. I want to have children and live like a wild bear.
Dolly's words made me hold my tongue.
> -Listen to me, my little one. You can't live all alone, unaided, because you're a tame bear now. What I mean is: you don't know how to raise a cub. You're a dancer, a clown, an acrobat. You're anything but a wild bear! From now on, you need the protection of the good people of this Centre.
Instantly I realized I had put my foot in it. I had revealed the truth and was waiting for the reaction of this offended animal.
As if by magic, however, we heard mother-bear's voice:
-Zanna, I'll adopt Dolly, she told me. I want the little bear to be my third child. We'll help her turn into a wild and independent bear again!
...We'll put her out of her pain. With us she'll forget her old sores and learn how to look for honey and nuts, how to dig the soil and find bulbs, how to look under the stones and discover tasty titbits. And when the winter comes, she'll know how to get her lair ready and how to raise her cubs...
I jumped with joy! I was so excited the dancer bear would finally return to her natural habitat, that I thought I'd finish my story there - But just then I saw a trunk jutting out of the pages of the book! It was Doll, the little elephant!
Speechless he was looking at me. As if he wanted to ask me something. We'd forgotten all about him! -Do you know why, children? -Because the elephant was too chicken-hearted.
-Poor, little elephant. Don't just stand there, with your tail between your legs. Fight! Do something, and we'll think some way of helping you - we'll send you back to the forest - we'll try to set you free. After all it's our duty.
I had hardly roused from sleep when I sat at my computer to write down everything I had dreamt of or thought about!
What can we do to help the little elephant, children? Do you have any suggestions?
###
About the author Zanna Mela-Florou
The visual arts attracted her from childhood having as teacher a well-known painter and later she finished a school of painting. She was involved in many kinds of expression as sacred pictures, batik, printmaking, pottery etc. Her studies include computer graphics, engineering-construction design, cosmetology and photography.
Along with her studies and her love for children, she began writing and illustrating children's books and texts in magazines and other publications.
She worked as a designer for many years in large private sector projects. She has participated in exhibitions in Greece and abroad. In her interests are the study and application of ecology, the folk art of the people she visited, digital photography and video editing.
Her artworks can be found in cultural centres and in private collections. Zanna Mela-Florou was born and lives in Athens-Greece with her family.
She is a member of "IBBY International Board on Books for Young People" and of "AESOP International Art Union of Illustration for Children and Teenagers Books", where she was General Secretary from 2002 to 2005.
She is also a member of the "GLS Woman's Literary Companionship", of the "EEEL National Society of Greek Writers", of UNICEF, UNESCO and environmental organizations.
Connect with Me Online
My personal home page: https://www.openillustratedbook-mela-florou.net