Can Bears Ski?

The debut children's book from Ted Hughes award-winning poet Raymond Antrobus that tracks a father-and-son journey into the discovery and management of deafness.

"This is a powerful and beautifully created book." - Able

“This multi-layered, skilfully woven story provides a brilliant insight into how children make sense of their experience when they don’t have the words to describe it.” - The Scotsman

“This is a book which should certainly have a place in every primary school for children, teachers, parents and staff.” - The School Librarian

Featured on the BBC news, the ITV news, and in a deaf storyline on Coronation Street, this book was also the first book to have ever been read entirely in BSL on CBeebies Storytime by Deaf actress Rose Ayling-Ellis.

Boy Bear cannot hear Dad Bear coming to wake him up in the morning. He only grasps little bits of what his teacher and friends say to him. All the time, Boy Bear keeps hearing the question, “Can bears ski?” What does it mean? With the support of Dad Bear, Boy Bear visits an audiologist and gets hearing aids. Suddenly, he understands... "CAN YOU HEAR ME?"

Now with an illustrated BSL alphabet included, Raymond and Polly draw from their personal experiences of deafness to show how isolating it can be for a deaf child in a hearing world, offering many different ways to communicate love.

“The detail of how Little Bear can feel the vibration of Dad’s feet on the floor rather than hear his voice in the morning, and how he can feel the crunch of the snow under his feet when he walks to school, as well as the experience of visiting an audiologist, bring an authenticity to the depiction of being deaf or hard of hearing in childhood alongside a lovely story told in a relatable child voice.” - Booktrust