The Bear Fairy -- Paul Coccia, Hardcover

Meet an unlikely fairy and his new best friend in this laugh-out-loud picture book about acceptance, being yourself and standing up to anyone who tries to diminish your sparkle.

Fairies should be pretty and sparkly and dainty . . . not chubby, not fluffy and NOT lured in by potato chips. But when Spencer catches a fairy in the park, he's shocked to find that's exactly what he's got!

The Bear Fairy is no delicate Tinkerbell: he hogs the remote, drops crumbs everywhere and snores like a truck. But he's still a fairy, and when Spencer's friend insults the Bear Fairy's appearance and hurts his feelings, Spencer must step up to defend his new friend.

With wit, charm and hilarity, author Paul Coccia and illustrator Fred Blunt have created a modern classic about being proud of who you are and fighting for the people you care about.

Author: Paul Coccia
Publisher: Tundra Books (NY)
Published: 02/17/2026
Pages: 40
Binding Type: Hardcover
Weight: 1.25lbs
ISBN: 9781774885581
Audience: Ages 4-8

Review Citation(s):
Kirkus Reviews 11/01/2025

About the Author
PAUL COCCIA is the author of the young-adult novels Recommended Reading, which received a starred review from Kirkus Reviews; Leon Levels Up, which was a JLG pick, a CCBC Best Book for Kids and Teens pick and included on the 2024 Kid Committee Summer Red Maple Reading List; I Got You Babe, a CCBC BBKT starred selection and included on the 2024 Kid Committee Summer Red Maple Reading List; On the Line (co-written with Eric Walters), which won the Richard Allen Chase Memorial Award, was a Canadian Children's Book Centre 2022 starred pick, and was shortlisted for the 2023 Red Maple; The Player, which was a 2021 Red Maple Summer Reading List selection, and Cub, which was a JLG selection and a Canadian Children's Book Centre's Best Book of 2019, and the 2024 release I Got You Babe. Paul has a Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing from the University of British Columbia. Despite writing books about hockey and basketball, Paul cannot skate and nearly broke his nose trying to spin a basketball on his finger. But he can bake and does know a fair bit about Cher. He lives with his parrot and three dogs in Toronto.

FRED BLUNT has illustrated dozens of books, from picture books to early readers and chapter books, and happily illustrates many of his self-authored books. Humor has always been at the top of Fred's list when it comes to drawing. Right from those early (rather unflattering) portraits of teachers, Fred knew he wanted to entertain with his work. His picture book Santa Claus versus the Easter Bunny was a Sunday Times Book of the Year in 2018. Gnome was the winner of the 2020 InspiRead Picture Book Award, and Lionel the Lonely Monster was a 2021 Reading Agency ExpressYourself Booklist selection for #ChildrensMentalHealthWeek.