Katie Bosch will release her children's book, "Mama Sugar Bear: A Tale That's a Little Bit True," in October 2024, inspired by the bear that broke into Grocer's Daughter Chocolate shop in Empire and devoured a 50-pound bag of sugar.
Bosch knew she had always wanted to write a children's book, but careers and life had gotten in the way, until the bear sparked her writing skills.
"It was such big news around town, not because he broke in, but because he ate the whole 50-pound sugar bag," she said. "When I see people and I tell them about the book, as soon as I tell them that the bear ate the whole 50 pounds, it just blows everybody's mind. In my head, I took a hike and just wrote the whole book in my head."
On April 16, 2024, around 10:30 p.m., a black bear pulled open the back door at Grocers Daughter's Chocolate and found himself a sweet treat in less than a minute. The bear grabbed the sugar and returned outside to enjoy the late-night snack. Nothing else in the shop was touched. The next night, the bear returned but was unable to successfully enter the building again after the staff reinforced the door. The bear was eventually caught and released in a rural location approximately 60 miles from the immediate area.
Bosch thought this would make for a perfect children's story and present an opportunity to put education into a children's book.
Obviously, to incorporate the children's writing style, some of the facts of the case were distorted, including the fact that the bear had to relocate.
Bosch instead wanted a happy story.
"I made it with the mama bear and two cubs. Then I wanted to bring in the National Park Service because I love the National Park ... The story includes a ranger actually having a conversation with the bear," Bosch said. "I wanted the kids to see that it was a nice ranger and the nice mama bear. I added a part where the park ranger says, 'Thank you for being respectful.'... I like big words for little kids. 'And thank you for not knocking the tables over, not eating the chocolates, not pooping, or peeing on the floor'... because kids also love poop and pee in their stories."
The book took about a year and a half to go from thought to paper. Bosch was on Aliagator Hill when she knocked out the first draft.
Bosch was an ER doctor, but since she retired, she wanted to take a stab at writing a children's book. The book is published through Mission Point Press in Traverse City.
A book launch is scheduled for October at Grocer's Daughter Chocolate.
"Seeing little kids with the book is my favorite thing ... hand it to a little kid, and the little kid would be going, look at the bear, look at the sugar," she said.
Poppy Things in Suttons Bay carries the book, along with the Cottage Bookstore in Glen Arbor, currently before its October release.
"This is a sweet story with a happy ending, and kids love the pictures, and they love the story, and I want to share it with as many people as many children out there as I can," Bosch said.
Here is the amazon link:
