Giant pandas and other bears may be stars of many children’s books, but in reality life as a bear can be tough! In this book, cartoon strips explore why giant pandas are always eating, how polar bears survive in freezing conditions, why sloth bears are not sloths and much more. Alongside the cartoon strips, we explore topics such as the variety of bear species, food chains, habitats and threats, to build a picture of life as a bear.

It’s Tough to Be is a series of fun educational books that help children aged 7 plus understand how animals adapt to survive in different habitats. Each book features hilarious cartoon strips and incredible science facts.

Titles in the series: A Tiger (and other cats) / A Shark (and other sea creatures) / A Black Mamba (and other snakes) / A T-rex (and other dinosaurs) / An Eagle (and other birds) /A Giant Panda (and other bears)

John Townsend

Born on the stroke of midnight in a little house in the ancient Roman town of Caesaromagus (Chelmsford), John grew up with a love of stories, the power of words and the magic of plays on the stage. John trained as a secondary school teacher and was first published in 1983. Oodles of years later, he became a full-time writer. He’s well known for writing to encourage readers into books and has been named a ‘Reading Champion’ by the National Literacy Trust.

Ruth Bennett

Ruth is an illustrator, character designer and animator from Norfolk, England. She loves creating fun quirky characters and stories that make children giggle.

Ruth primarily works digitally using bold lines and bright colours.

Her biggest inspiration comes from the people around her, Norfolk is home to lots of interesting personalities! As well as people watching she enjoys long walks along the coast and spending time with her two cats.