Coming 25th of November 2024!

For as long as there have been storytellers, and listeners sitting spellbound at their feet, there have been stories of tricksters - Anansi, Brer Rabbit, Loki. They can be powerful, even frightening; or they can be cute. And when they are little, we're rapt to hear about their adventures, because they remind us that superpowers often come in small packages.

But forget meerkats! You'll love these stories about Sang Kancil - a mischievous little mousedeer, a chevrotain, from Southeast Asia. He may be small, but he can fool a huge elephant, skip across a bridge of crocodiles, and dodge the coconuts flung down at him by monkeys - then cheekily enjoy a drink from the shells they didn't mean to split open for him.

Theresa Fuller loved to listen to her grandfather telling her these stories when she was little and now she's brought together a wonderful collection from Malaysia, Indonesia, Sri Lanka, the Philippines - magical places of rainforests, tigers, leopards, pythons - with words that sound like the chiming and tinkling of music, or the whispering of wind in the bamboo.

Eating the Liver of the Earth opens up a whole world of unexpected treasure!

Dr Mark MacLeod

Mark co-ordinated courses in Children's Literature and Australian Literature at Macquarie University and courses in Australian Literature and Film for Rollins College, Florida for many years before becoming Children's Publishing Director at Random House Australia. He published books for young readers and for adults under his own name imprint at Hodder Headline and was Project Manager of 'My Favourite Book' for ABCTV. Well known as a television and radio presenter, he also writes books for young readers. Mark has been president of the NSW branch of the Children's Book Council of Australia and national president in 2005-6. He has won the CBCA Lady Cutler Award and the Australian Publishers Association Pixie O'Harris Award for distinguished services to children's literature. Currently professor at Charles Sturt University, Tasmania

Bare Bear Media is proud to announce the launch of

Gua Pi Keday or I Went to the Shops

Launching on the 4th of September 2024

'I went to the shops and bought…’ has been a popular listening game for families for hundreds of years. Besides teaching children the rules for taking turns, this traditional past-time helps with memory and can be an invaluable aid to socialization. It is certainly one of my family’s favorite go-to activities on long car trips and before bedtime, and I can testify that it brings our family closer together.

So, it was little wonder that when the time came to create the first ever Baba Malay Reader that I fell back on an old and trusty treasure.

Gua Pi Keday or I went to the Shops, is now being used to teach the Peranakan vocabulary (kata-kata) and to introduce beginners to the 22 letters that compose the Baba Malay alphabet. Fun, educational and challenging: a new tool in the introduction of our beloved Baba Malay language.

Gua pi keday is a charming reader that not only entertains but also serves as a powerful tool for revitalising an endangered language. The book is thoughtfully put together in a way that hopefully draws younger readers, who should be the main target audience of any revitalization effort. It comprises fun elements and approaches the language in an intuitive way for learners. It is one thing to recognise that a language is threatened, and another to go beyond and do something about it. Nyonya Theresa Fuller deserves high praise for her dedication in bringing this invaluable reader to life. Her commitment to preserving an endangered language through the creation of this reader is truly commendable.

Dr Nala Lee

Author of A GRAMMAR OF MODERN BABA MALAY

Bare Bear Media is proud to announce the launch of

THE BABA MALAY TODAY SERIES

Learn Baba Malay in BITE SIZED portions

Launched on the 6th of September 2022

Precious Baba Malay is about to go extinct, but you can reverse the process by learning Baba Malay in clearly defined steps. This treasured language can be a part of your life, hopefully to be revived as it is spread through sharing this didactic method.

Former assessor and examiner of the Higher School Certificate (NSW, Australia), Theresa Fuller, known fondly in the Peranakan community as Bibek Theresa, draws on her years of experience in the classroom to create the Baba Malay Today series – a range of chapter books with an easy-to-follow curriculum aimed at the beginner.

Books 1 & 2 - Interrogatory published in September 2022

Book 3 - Conjunctions published 2 Jan 2023

Book 4 - Prepositions published 16 June 2023

Book 5 - Antonyms 26 June 2023

Book 6 - The Essence of Baba Malay published 24 May 2024

Book 7 - The Poetry of Baba Malay coming 2025

Book 8 - The Idioms of Baba Malay coming 2026

While the first 5 books are on grammar, Book 6 is about what makes Baba Malay unique.

Baba Malay Today Series.

New Peranakan Tales - a series of readers to accompany the Baba Malay Today series. Whatever your level. Whatever your interest. Let's love, learn and live our language.

With the rise in interest in all things Peranakan and a revival in the use of Baba Malay, Theresa Fuller has created a much-needed children's beginner book to learn Baba Malay.

Theresa Fuller is a qualified high school teacher, and former Higher School Certificate (H.S.C.) assessor and examiner (Board of Studies, New South Wales). The author draws on her years of experience in the classroom to simplify the process. Sweet and simple, if you are interested in learning Baba Malay then this is the way to go!

These chapter books provide an introduction to Baba Malay in bite-size portions!

Dr Marc Sebastian Rerceretnam

Author, A History of Immigrant Roman Catholics and Converts in Early Singapore 1832-1945

Sydney Australia

“A simple but thoughtfully put together book that will ignite interest in the learner to what is fast becoming an extinct language - Baba Malay. With its clear examples and practices,

it will take the learner on a journey to discover a unique language used by a small but vibrant community."

Rosalind Ang (born to a lovely nonya with roots in Brunei)

Retired educator with 40 years of teaching elementary and high school students

"Linguists would classify a language as effectively dead when it is no longer the language of communication, or when only a few elderly speakers remain. When most would say, 'Who cares?' Theresa who now lives in Sydney, Australia, would not just brush it off as Baba Malay is the language of her ancestors in Southeast Asia. When a language is dead, gone are all the traditions and aspects of the culture. Theresa has made quite a serious and tangible attempt to preserve the language of her Southeast Asian ancestors from extinction. Hence, Theresa's series of books on Baba Malay is to be applauded!"

Dr Daud H. Soesilo

Indonesian translation coordinator. Recipient President' award for excellence in preaching, Asbury Seminary, 1980, Juris Doctor Owen prize Vanderbilt University, 1981. Chairman board directors, East Java Christian University, Malang, 1994. Member Society Biblical Literature, Indonesian Linguistic Society, Theta Phi.

Bare Bear Media is also proud to announce the launch of WHERE CRANES WEAVE AND BAMBOO SINGS, 'A Visual Narrative Workbook for Teachers and Writers', by Theresa Fuller published in 2023!

Illustrator: Peggy Sands

The Write Start: A Visual Narrative Workbook for Teachers and Writers"

Drawing on stories from around the world, Sydney author and teacher Theresa Fuller creates an easy to follow, visually stimulating workbook on creating narrative fiction. Suitable for all new writers from 7 years and older, it is a work that can be used by schools or individuals to learn the core elements of storytelling.

Although this workbook on the structure of narrative is initially addressed to teachers, students at all stages of their writing journey will find helpful advice here on how to begin writing imaginative stories, or how to revise and refresh their understanding of narrative structure if they already have some experience. The author's use of colour coding in the design is particularly helpful in identifying such narrative tropes as the protagonist's goal, complications, conflict and resolution. Conscious that we learn in different ways, Fuller also uses bold type and numerical checklists to make these elements accessible.

The title, 'Where Cranes Weave and Bamboo Sings', signals the southeast Asian origin of some of the narrative examples included, which is an appealing feature of the content, and derives from the author's passionate advocacy of her own Malay ancestry and her commitment to cross-cultural inclusion. I was slightly concerned that the first traditional story cited - 'Noah and the Ark' - might indicate a more conservative selection of examples than I had hoped for, and it is true that some teachers will wish for a more adventurous and inclusive selection. But Fuller is wise to resist appropriating First Nations stories, for example. Their storytellers have that project well underway. And the range of sources here will inspire curious students and their teachers to explore further.

Fuller's explanations of the ways a story works are expressed simply and with colloquial warmth, so no teacher or student need feel intimidated by the fear that imaginative storytelling is too hard to try. And the couple of occasions when the stories chosen vacillate inconsistently between present and past tense don't disrupt her argument for long and can even be used as material for editing - a topic that is usefully included for more experienced writers.

No single work can be expected to cover the needs of all writing teachers and their students, but 'Where Cranes Weave and Bamboo Sings' is an impressive achievement and an attractive complement to popular handbooks by writers including Libby Gleeson and Mem Fox, and standard guides to scriptwriting by Syd Field and Blake Snyder. It will find a place in every school library and writing classroom.

Dr Mark MacLeod

Dr Mark Macleod is a writer and editor for children, Adjunct Senior Lecturer at Charles Sturt University and chair of TasWriters, the writers centre in Hobart, Tasmania. He has taught Children’s Literature, Australian Literature and Creative Writing at universities in Australia and around the world, most recently in India at Mumbai University and Sikkim University. His publishing career focuses on narrative texts as agents for change. He has been Publishing Director at Random House, Publisher at Hachette Australia, President and Publishing Director of independent picture book publisher Dirt Lane Press, and freelance editor for publishers including Walker Books Australia, University of Queensland Press, Omnibus Books, ABC Books and Queer Ink, India.

"Where Cranes Weave and Bamboo Sings" is a valuable resource for speech pathologists and teachers working with children on reading comprehension, narrative structures, and visualisation skills. The workbook's gradual progression of complexity, from simple stories to more intricate narratives, provides a tailored approach for individualized support. The incorporation of illustrations enhances engagement, making it an effective tool for diverse learning styles. Clear and concise instructions, coupled with notes for the user, make this workbook a user-friendly asset for narrative development in children."

Melanie Arthur

Speech Pathologist - Sydney, NSW, Australia

"Where Cranes Weave and Bamboo sings" is a unique addition to the teaching of narrative. The very beginning writer, even the kindergarten student can follow the simple breakdown of what makes a story. The layout of beginning middle and end is explained and the young writer is led to practise and respond to multiple stories. The text is well designed and colour and black line drawings create variation in the pages that stimulate the reader. This is a worthwhile addition to the teaching tools available in primary classrooms and the workshop activities among older aspiring writers."

Libby Gleeson

Winner of the Nan Chauncy Award, Prime Minister's Literary Award, Dromken Medal, NSW Premier's Literary Award, Member of the Order of Australia.

Lands Below the Winds Series

The Lands Below the Winds is a series of folktales from Southeast Asia.

The Lands below the Winds was the name given by the ancient Arabians and Persians for the countries of Southeast Asia which lay below the typhoon belt. Other names were Suvarnabhumi, Sovannah Phoum, Suvarnadvipa (Golden Islands) offered by the Indians, Nanyang (South Seas) by the Chinese and Nanyo by the Japanese.

The Lands below the Winds was the gateway to the Spice Islands, an area fought over and even today, integral to world trade and commerce.

Malaya – Land of Eternal Summer also known as the Golden Chersonese, ancient Melaka, Bumi Kenyalang (Sarawak - Land of the Hornbills - the messengers to the gods) and even the fabled Temasek, all had reputations beyond their borders. Here then, are some of their myths and legends.

Folktales from Southeast Asia with a strong emphasis on girls who saved their people. All books contain illustrations, notes, and a glossary.

Books in the series:

The Girl Who Became an Island - Coming (Folktales from Singapore.)

The Girl Who Became a Goddess (Folktales from Singapore, Malaysia and China.)

The Girl Sudan Painted like a Gold Ring (Folktales from the Sea Dyaks of Sarawak, Borneo.)