Pocket Bear by Katherine Applegate

Author Letter from Katherine Applegate

Dear Reader,
When I think about the books I've most loved writing, it always comes back to stories for middle-grade readers. I so love that audience. I love their unquenchable curiosity. Their fierce idealism. And their boundless imaginations.

For this wildly open-minded and open-hearted audience, I can create a possible invisible giant cat, or a miniature polar bear-hummingbird hybrid who builds nests out of glowing bubbles. I can write from the point of view of an orphaned otter with Olympian diving moves, or a wise, deeply kind, talking oak tree.

I can do these things because I know that my audience is uniquely able to embrace the unusual, the unexpected, even the unbelievable.

In my newest book, Pocket Bear, which debuts in September, 2025, I write about a wily, theft-prone cat named Zephyrina and her dear friend Pocket, a tiny stuffed bear who was originally created to provide comfort to a soldier during World War I.

Pocket, or mascot, bears were made to fit into the breast pocket of a uniform. Their eyes were positioned in such a way that, glancing down, a soldier would see a little bear looking up, a token of love and hope, always there in the darkest of moments. 

Not for a fleeting second, as I wrote this story of an unlikely friendship, did I wonder if a child would embrace the idea. Adults? You never know. We are, sadly, a weary and distracted lot, especially lately.

But a child? Absolutely.

The epigraph to Pocket Bear is from a Mary Oliver poem: Keep some room in your heart for the unimaginable.

That's why writing for middle-grade readers is just a privilege and a joy.

They have so much room in those tender hearts of theirs.

Katherine Applegate


Thimble-born from tip to toe, meet Pocket Bear

Preorder Newbery Medalist Katherine Applegate’s next middle-grade novel Pocket Bear for your classroom or library to receive a gift for you and a gift for your students!

Upload your receipt from any retailer to receive an exclusive art print and 15 Pocket Bear patches.


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"Experience an unforgettable tale of bravery, kindness, and second chances, where every stitch tells a story."

Pocket Bear cover image

Small bear with a blue scarf curled up next to a large cat.
Pocket Bear | On sale September 9th

Meet Pocket, created as a good luck charm for soldiers going into battle, whose bravery and loyalty lives on long after the war.

From Katherine Applegate, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Odder and The One and Only Ivan.

Thimble-born from tip to toe, Pocket Bear remembers every moment of his becoming: the glimmering needle, the silken thread, the tender hands as each careful stitch brought him closer to himself. Born during the throes of WWI, he was designed to fit into the pocket of a soldier’s jacket, eyes sewn a bit higher than normal so that he always gazed upward. That way, glancing at his pocket, a soldier would see an endearing token of love from someone back home, and, hopefully, a good luck charm.

Now, over a century later, Pocket serves as unofficial mayor of Second Chances Home for the Tossed and Treasured, where stuffed toy animals are refurbished and given a fresh opportunity to be loved. He and his best feline friend Zephyrina, known far and wide as “The Cat Burglar,” have seen it all, and then some.

An unforgettable tale of bravery, loyalty, and kindness, Pocket reminds us all that love comes in many forms (sometimes filled with fluff), and that second chances are always possible.

Explore themes of community, empathy, resilience, and the environment through books by Katherine Applegate. Download a free discussion guide here!

A Teacher's Guide to the Middle-Grade Novels of Katherine Applegate

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A Teacher’s Guide for Middle-Grade Graphic Memoirs

Real Life, Frame by Frame: A Teacher's Guide for Middle-Grade Graphic Memoirs

In the six graphic memoirs included in this teacher’s guide, you’ll find stories that make your students feel seen and that make the unremarkable feel remarkable. This guide includes discussion questions for six middle grade graphic novel memoirs, a guide for young readers to create their own graphic novel memoirs, and more recommendations for even more memorable graphic novels inspired by real life.

Discussion Guide: The Song of Orphan’s Garden by Nicole M. Hewitt

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The Song of Orphan's Garden Book Cover

The Song of Orphan’s Garden
By Nicole M. Hewitt
Ages 8-12
On Sale Now!
A Junior Library Guild Selection

Combining the gentleness of Miyazaki, the wintry wonderland of The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, and the whimsicality of Newbery winner The Girl Who Drank the Moon, Nicole M. Hewitt’s debut middle-grade novel, The Song of Orphan’s Garden, is an enchanting fantasy tale with all the makings of a new classic.

In an arctic world that’s getting colder every day, Lyriana’s only hope of survival is to get her little brother Zave and herself to the fabled Orphan’s Garden. It’s rumored to be the one place in the world not controlled by deadly Winter Spirits or ruled by the tyrant Giant king. In Orphan’s Garden, healing trees will melt away Winter’s pains, and Lyriana and Zave can live safely in the warmth of Spring. If the garden exists, they must find it. They won’t live much longer without it.

Brob, a Giant boy, also needs sanctuary. When the Giant king banishes his family to the Winter Blight, it’s a death sentence. Orphan’s Garden is his family’s only hope, and as far as Brob’s concerned, it belongs to him. After all, he was the one who accidentally used an ancient magic to grow the garden years ago. He has no intention of sharing his haven with pesky humans, who will just use up its magic and ruin it.

When it becomes clear that Orphan’s Garden is in danger of being destroyed, Lyriana and Brob are the only ones who can save it—but only if they can put the ages-old battle between Humans and Giants aside and find a way to work together.

dOWNLOAD THE dISCUSSION gUIDE FOR The song of orphan’s garden hERE →