Welcome to Blue Bear Stories
We are city dwellers with a love of animals and nature of all kinds. We have two dogs and our adopted-in-our-hearts dog, Boomer. We are planning a series of books, Nature in the City, inspired by Mourning Doves nesting in our window, gardening on our roof, our dogs open-gate-policy for the multitude of community gardens in our neighborhood, and our love of nature wherever we can find it. Our goal with our books is to inspire children to truly see and appreciate the wonders and magic of nature everywhere, from the family farm in the country to the concrete jungle of the big city.
Meet the Team
Traci Van Wagoner - Illustrator
Award winning Illustrator Traci Van Wagoner holds degrees in illustration from Utah State University and in toy design from the Fashion Institute of Technology in New York City. A long time member of SCBWI, Traci has illustrated over 20 children’s books, and blue bear has shown up in every one of them. When not painting, she is writing picture books and middle grade novels; designing and developing games with her husband at Imagine That! Design; gardening on her roof in NYC, or walking her dog exploring the hidden secrets of community gardens. See more of her work on her website.
Kurt Keller - Designer
Born and raised in NY, Kurt Keller was always surrounded by art and design. He found his passion young, in elementary school art class, honed his skills in high school, and finally graduated college with a degree in Industrial Design and a degree in Toy Design, giving him the ability to let his creative passions soar. He has designed many books for children including the Nelson Beats the Odds Series. Blue bear was his childhood friend, so it made sense to use Blue Bear as a mascot for the publishing division of Imagine That! Design, Blue Bear Stories. Follow Kurt on Facebook.
The Inspiration
The stuffed blue teddy bear has been a part of Kurt Keller's’s life since childhood, and has become our mascot at Blue Bear Stories. Look for Blue Bear in all of Traci Van Wagoner's books. (see her website to see the books)
Blue Bear also loves reading books and provides reviews on Blue Bear Reads. Blue Bear plays games with us and comforts us when sick or sad. So, it only made sense when we decided to create our first book, Itsy Bitsy Teddy Bear’s Adventure, for Traci’s Mom, Marilyn Van Wagoner, to make a publishing imprint named after our mascot, Blue Bear.
Blue Bear also loves reading books and provides reviews on Blue Bear Reads. Blue Bear plays games with us and comforts us when sick or sad. So, it only made sense when we decided to create our first book, Itsy Bitsy Teddy Bear’s Adventure, for Traci’s Mom, Marilyn Van Wagoner, to make a publishing imprint named after our mascot, Blue Bear.
