OTIS KNOWS (How To Be A Bear)

 This is my first post for November. At the first of each month you can watch any and all weather broadcasters or news anchors to lose count of all the "Can you believe it? it's ________ already!" But you'll never find a bear being surprised by the changing calendar. The brown bears who make their homes near Brooks River in Alaska's Katmai National Park and Preserve have always lived by the calendar of their stomachs. In perfect sync with seasonal changes that seem to surprise even weather forecasters each month. 

BEacACH LANE BOOKS, 2026

OTIS KNOWS (How To Be A Bear) is co-authored by Liz Garton Scanlon and Martha Brockenbrough, with utterly irresistible illustrations by Stephanie Laberis. Otis appears to be a delightfully imagined bear-ish character in a story. In fact, he is the delightful REAL LIFE character in this nonfiction book. He is actually tagged bear number 480, but, like many other longtime bear residents, he acquired a nickname some years back.

The authors introduce Otis as he lingers and slumbers in his underground den, undisturbed by Nature's clock that wakes and draws the other park bears to the river. Hibernation means that a fully stuffed belly and layers of fat have dissolved during the winter, and life demands waking and making way to the river to eat. 

And eat.

And eat.

But readers see Otis snarking and snoring underground LONG past the time the others, including mothers and cubs, are staking claims to the best feeding spots for spawning salmon and juicy spring berries. Bears scrabble and scruff for the best spots, first restoring their body's weight, and then... building up new layers of fat for the coming winter. 

Otis is nowhere to be seen. 

Is Otis sick? Or foolish? Nope. Otis does things in his own time, in his  own ways, because OTIS KNOWS how to be a bear. He's been a bear longer than any of the others. When he drags his scruffy, skinny self out of the den, he doesn't need to compete. He takes up a spot on the river that will bring the fish to him. He knows to eat. He knows his missing teeth won't keep him from devouring plenty of fresh foods. He does it all in his own way. In his own time,

As Fall comes, the bears grow fat. Fatter than fat. The mothers, the cubs, the others. Otis, though, is ONE FAT BEAR! When the seasons lead him back to his den, he is well-prepared to sleep deep, long, and in his own way.  

Dang, I just gave away the whole story! But it isn't just a story, it's public record. Otis, #480, is one of the actual bears who gained online fame for the annual FAT BEAR WEEK contest. Otis was the proud winner of that FAT BEAR contest several times, despite being old, lumbering, and a late-starting each spring. He certainly proved that he knew what he was doing. Finally, in spring of 2024, Otis did not come from his den late, or at all. At about 28 years of age (a very long life for brown bears). 

What merited my attention was not just the appeal of Otis, nor the perfectly paced writing with  graceful language, nor the illustrations that are as informative as they are heartwarming and humorous. The creators track record for fantastic picture books assured I'd read this, but I was blown away. What happens in this nonfiction (yes, nonfiction) book is as magical as anything Disney could design. Back matter provided more details about Otis as well as notes about true hibernation and dormancy. But it isn't the back matter that earns my highest praise. 

The authors have used the life and patterns of Otis and his life to offer understated advice to us all, at any age. Doing things in our own way, in our own time, may draw concern, or even scorn. Living by our inner clocks while still knowing what needs to be done and getting it done may not be popular with everyone around us. That approach may suggest to others that we are incompetent or clueless. Judging others has become as natural an impulse to people as fattening up is to bears. But we can all know, or learn to embrace, an Otis attitude. When we know ourselves and what we can and need to do, the question is, will be get it done?  Not when, or how, or just like someone else would do it. 

And when others around us approach life in ways we would not, were can give them grace. They just might know enough to win the prize!