Meet the author

Brian Sears

Brian Sears, retired headteacher and author of Through the Year with Timothy Bear and Famous Prayers Unpacked, talks about his experiences of books, writing and story-telling.

When you were a child, did you have favourite stories?

I did not come from a ‘bookish’ family. The first books I recall reading with enjoyment were the Biggles books by W.E. Johns.

How did the ‘Timothy Bear’ stories come about?

The advent of Timothy Bear into my life is a story in itself! Once he had come I started telling stories about him at a children’s home in Bristol, then in schools where I taught and churches where I led services.

Your new book, ‘Famous Prayers Unpacked’, features the adventures of a boy called Tom. Was there any inspiration for the character?

It was an adult judgement to reckon that children outgrew teddy bear stories so I created an ordinary family as a vehicle for school and church stories. The boy ‘hero’ was first called Christopher Caractacus which, to avoid being such a mouthful, was changed to Tom Wetherby.

While writing down the stories, did you ever suffer from writer’s block? How do you keep yourself going?

Some stories are easier to write than others. Mostly I am working towards a theme for a story. Sometimes much of their development takes place in the subconscious during hour of sleeping!

Both of your books are well suited to primary school assemblies. In your experience as a head teacher, what are the best (and hardest) parts of preparing and leading collective worship?

One of the best parts of my work as a head teacher was leading assemblies. I still have the privilege of going in to another local school every Tuesday to take assembly. The togetherness of the whole school is so important. Story is usually a vital ingredient along with songs and prayers.

I can never take assembly ‘off the cuff’; I have to be well prepared. One of my hardest things was getting Year 6 to sing up!

What advice would you give to someone taking an assembly and using one of your books?

For the teddy bear stories the story-teller/story-reader could valuably hold a teddy bear that becomes Timothy. Things that Timothy says can be spoken in a deep, gruff voice. Sometimes the Tom Wetherby stories lend themselves to children being at the front to represent a different character that features. They’re not demanding ‘acting’ roles but children focus more readily on the story.

And finally, are there any new characters in the pipe-line?

Timothy Bear and Tom Wetherby are characters enough for the time being. From time to time children have their own suggestions. For example: “Couldn’t Timothy have a girlfriend?” !!

Brian, thank you for sharing your experiences with us - and we look forward to enjoying the adventures of Tom Wetherby and Timothy Bear.