An Unlikely Pair

Ages 8 to 12, Grades 3 to 7

Based on the beloved comic strip “Bear with Me” by Bob Scott, this lighthearted odd couple middle grade graphic novel is about a girl and her very best friend: an 800-pound scaredy-bear!

When Bear wanders into eleven-year-old Molly’s life, she knows she’s just met her new bestie. Loyal, sweet, inquisitive—and terrified of almost everything—Bear makes a great new friend. And he’s not scary at all! But try telling that to the rest of the world.

Molly eventually convinces her mom and dad to let Bear stay with them, but showing everyone else that Bear isn’t dangerous (not to mention assuring Bear that he isn’t in constant danger!) is going to take some work. Lucky for Bear, Molly doesn’t give up easily.

About the Author

Bob Scott lives in both the world of comic strips and animation. Born in Detroit, he began drawing at a young age by copying what he saw in the funny pages. After graduating from California Institute of the Arts, Bob entered the world of character animation and has worked for over thirty-five years in the industry as an animator, character designer, storyboard artist, and voice talent for Warner Brothers, DreamWorks, Pixar, and more. Bob has always wanted a comic strip of his own, and so “Bear with Me” (a.k.a. “Molly and the Bear”) was born and became a syndicated webcomic in 2010. In partnership with his wife, Vicki, Bob turned this webcomic into their middle grade debut, An Unlikely Pair.

Vicki Scott, CalArts animation grad, is currently a character and prop designer for Nickelodeon. She was a storyboard artist for the upcoming Garfield movie and the Apple TV+ series The Snoopy Show. Vicki has also worked in licensing and publishing, drawing Looney Tunes, Tiny Toons, Garfield, and Peanuts characters as seen on products ranging from apparel to giftware to parade floats to mud flaps. While she worked for the Schulz family, she wrote several graphic novels and short stories for the recent run of Boom comic books, currently being reprinted by Simon & Schuster.