My dream was always to be a children’s author. To one day be able to walk into a bookshop and see MY books on the shelves – to see my stories and my voice out in the world. There was one small problem. As a child I was chronically shy. So shy, I was too afraid to speak up in class or ever share any of my stories.

It took many years to realise that even shy people are capable of achieving of big goals. And so, in 2019 I sat down to write my debut children’s book.

Inspired by my deep love of animals, The Last Bear tells the story of a 11-year-old girl who meets, befriends and then saves a wild polar bear. The book was never intended to have an environmental angle – at heart I just wanted to focus on this extraordinary friendship between girl and bear. But as I started researching Arctic habitat, it soon became clear that it was impossible to write a story about a polar bear without referencing the melting ice-caps.

The Last Bear was a book written from my heart. It’s an adventure story with a powerful emotional heart. And despite its Arctic setting, something about it struck a universal chord with readers all around the world. Since its publication in the UK in 2021, it has now been published into 25 different languages, including Arabic, won multiple awards and become a bestseller.

Lovely as this all was, I soon came to realise that the best part of being a children’s author was not the external recognition, but the impact I was able to make – including shining a spotlight on these incredible animals who so desperately need our help.

As Bear teaches April the power of her own roar, I would love everyone to know, no matter how small or shy you may feel on the inside, you’re never too small to change the world.