Books
The Family
Blanca Carranza
Creator of Joy Sun Bear, Blanca is a former pre-school teacher and globe trotter. She loves to share the world through Joy and his stories.
Shearin Lee
As the Creative Director (and de facto PR manager), Shearin helps guide major projects and keeps the team motivated.
John Lee
Author and illustrator of the site and the books, John enjoys creating characters that children relate to and love to read about.
The Blue Amber of Sumatra
What do you get when you combine a curious sun bear, a new friendship, a curse, and a few ancient mythical creatures?
A magical adventure like no other!
Joy has found an unexpected friend in a group of animals who fled the sudden destruction of their forest home. But, his new friend, and the rest of the newcomers, are being blamed for the sacred figs that disappeared, overnight!
Joy finds himself on a mission to locate a mystical stone in order to prove the new animals are not to blame. Along the way, he'll face many challenges, some put in his path by an unseen magical foe. He'll learn about compassion and respect, and how to find the power within himself to save his rainforest from chaos and ruin. Perhaps, he'll even help change the world...
Filled with diverse and colorful personalities, many children will find a character they can relate and look up to! Whether it's curious and brave Joy, responsible and confident Ayu, or playful and sweet Tipah.
ISBN-13 : 978-1732595101
What people are saying
The segments below are all from Amazon certified reviews:
"Joy teaches readers the importance of family relationships, stewardship of Mother Earth, and respect for creatures of other cultures."
"The Adventures of Joy Sun Bear is such a delight to read for adults and children alike."
"This is an amazing children's chapter book. It holds the attention and teaches lessons on compassion and helping others in need."
"A friend of mine recommended this book to me and I’m so glad she did! Even though I’m an adult and this is a children’s book, the underlying messages of this book transcend age and are important for everyone to be reminded of.
Free Bonus Materials
Visit this book's page for free coloring activities and more information on our Classroom Guide for teachers.
Big Changes, New Adventures! A Covid Feelings Workbook
A great resource to help children discover and process all the emotions that they are dealing with because of Covid-19!
Covid-19 has been difficult for everyone, causing lifestyles around the globe to change almost overnight. Those changes have been especially hard for children, and not every child has the emotional toolkit they need to process those feelings. Parents are feeling the weight of these effects on their child as well, often struggling to balance changes at work with everything else going on.
Big Changes, New Adventures! introduces your child to the fun and lovable characters from the magical adventures of Joy Sun Bear, and helps your child develop healthy emotional responses with fun activities, inspiring writing ideas, breathing and movement exercises, and mindfulness practice.
Joy, Ayu, Tipah, and Kinti, will give the reader a safe place with friendly support as they learn about their feelings and how important it is to accept all the emotions that make up who they are.
***Best for ages 8 to 12. Got younger munchkins? Don't worry, they'll still benefit from the contents if an adult works on it with them - and which of us big kids couldn't use a little more emotional intelligence, right?
ISBN-13 : 978-1732595118
What people are saying
"We were having a tense family argument over a bunch of complicated stuff and out of nowhere I had a feeling to just get the workbook out, and wow, it really helped [my son] and [my daughter] so much. [My daughter] went from meltdown mode to coloring about her body scan. And [my son] was able to draw his feelings about depression and anxiety so much easier than talking about it—thank you!! So many families need this!"
--Kristen, Mom and Teacher
"Yesterday, my fourth-grade student inquired about the definition of anxiety and wondered why people felt stressed. When we dug deeper, he mentioned feeling sad about distance learning, mainly because he couldn’t spend time with his friends at school. Prior to talking about it, he didn’t quite know how to pinpoint his emotions; so I flipped through the pages of the book (during virtual tutoring), showed him the cute cartoon pictures, and talked about his moods. The biggest smile crossed his face, when the young boy realized he wasn’t alone. That same day, I tutored second-grade twins, who were feeling stifled by distance learning. The girls looked miserable. When I told them about creating [the] Gratitude Jar...in the workbook, they were overjoyed to write sentences about reasons to be grateful. After excitedly writing for 15 minutes(!), they cut thier lists into strips, folded the papers in half, and dropped them into the glass container. They couldn’t wait to pay it forward to their parents, who would also be invited to contribute and benefit from the Gratitude Jar. “Big Changes, New Adventures!” nailed it! [This] thought-provoking “COVID Feelings Workbook” will serve children in need of emotional support, which is important during these trying times. The workbook is sitting at the forefront of my desk, as a reminder to use it with my students. I will definitely be recommending it to my clients."
--Gina Wileman, Owner, EUREKA! Tutoring
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