Inspiring Young Readers
posted on 16 Apr 2026
The Bear and the Seed by Poonam Mistry
Poonam Mistry is one of those children’s book creators whose style is immediately unmistakable and eye-catching for its almost kaleidoscopic use of colour. We have reviewed books by her on this site before – here and here – and she’s been kind enough to do an interview for us that can be found here. In the preamble to that interview, she set us this introduction to her style, artwork and inspirations:
“Her style incorporates her love of nature and her Indian roots and explores the relationships between pattern, shapes and colour. Poonam’s upbringing and childhood have heavily influenced her work, in particular being surrounded by Indian fabrics, Kalamkari textiles, Madhubani paintings and hand painted ornaments. These patterns and intricate details are featured heavily in her style of work. She loves folklore tales and stories of Hindu Gods and Goddesses and these have been a rich source of inspiration in a number of her illustrations. Poonam’s work is drawn by hand with black ink before she uses computer software to add colour and adjust the composition of her illustrations”
I reproduce that here because there couldn’t be a better guide to her latest book, The Bear and the Seed in which you’ll find all the elements listed in that description on show in all their richness here.
A young bear lives happily in a thriving healthy forest until one day he wakes to find that the trees and vegetation is beginning to disappear and many of his animal friends are leaving with it. After finding a single seed on the ground, bear decides he will take it to a safe place, put it on the ground and protect it until it grows.
But he soon discovers that simply laying the seed down on the surface isn’t good enough and he is advised by his friend, Worm, to bury the seed deeper into the soil to keep it warm and cosy. Then Frog advises that it needs water; Bird suggests singing to it; and, Fox tells Bear that it needs the warm sunlight.
So, Bear shelters, waters and sings to the seed as each day the tiny shoot grows taller. But winter comes and the days get shorter as Bear tries and tries to protect the plant. But Bears must hibernate and soon he is in a deep sleep as the months go by to Spring finally arrives.
What will Bear discover when he wakes up? Find out for yourselves.
The ecological and environmental messages in this book are clear and heart-warmingly set in a simple story that even the youngest child is likely to respond to. But for me, the star of the show is the artwork and the author/illustrator tells us just what her chief inspiration was:
“The Natural world has always been a big source of inspiration for my artwork. There are lots of patterns that can be found in the outdoors and scenery around us. From the sediment and the composition of soil, the surface of leaves and flower petals and the bark and texture on trees, we are surrounded by natural patterns…These heavily formed the pattern work and the layered details in my illustrations for this book.”
Available now from Bonnier Books, you will be able to get a copy from your local independent bookshop – who will be happy to order you a copy if they don’t have it on their shelves.
Terry Potter
April 2026
