SHORTLISTED FOR THE 2021 CARNEGIE MEDAL

"Written with passion and compassion, Anderson's talent as a weaver of magic and creator of evocative landscapes is growing with every book." - The Daily Mail

"Enchanting story." - The Daily Telegraph

They call me Yanka the Bear. Not because of where I was found - only a few people know about that. They call me Yanka the Bear because I am so big and strong.





Found abandoned in a bear cave as a baby, Yanka has always wondered about where she is from. She tries to ignore the strange whispers and looks from the villagers, wishing she was as strong on the inside as she is on the outside. But, when she has to flee her house, looking for answers about who she really is, a journey far beyond one that she ever imagined begins: from icy rivers to smouldering mountains meeting an ever-growing herd of extraordinary friends along the way.

Interwoven with traditional stories of bears, princesses and dragons, Yanka's journey is a gorgeously lyrical adventure from the best-selling author of The House With Chicken Legs.



Sophie Anderson (Author)



Sophie Anderson was born in Swansea, and now lives in the Lake District with her family. Her writing is most often inspired by folk and fairy stories, especially the Slavic tales her Prussian grandmother told her when she was young.



Across her bestselling novels, Sophie has won the Independent Bookshop Book of the Year Award and the Wales Book of the Year Award, and been shortlisted for the CILIP Carnegie Medal twice, the Waterstones Children's Book Prize, the Blue Peter Book Award, the British Book Awards' Children's Fiction Book of the Year, the Andersen Prize, and the Branford Boase Award.



Sophie's books have been translated into over twenty-five languages, and The House with Chicken Legs has been adapted for stage by Les Enfants Terribles.

Kathrin Honesta (Illustrator)



Kathrin Honesta is an illustrator based in Jakarta. Her works are mostly inspired by her reflective thoughts, faith, and life in general, and she loves to use symbolism and visual metaphors to add layers to her works.