In ‘The Bear’s Garden,’ author Marcie Colleen finds beauty in the city

San Diego author Marcie Colleen has changed careers several times and has worked hard at becoming a successful children’s author.

“I was working in the theater in New York City when I lost my job in June 2009 due to the recession,” said the award-winning author, whose new book is “The Bear’s Garden,” illustrated by Alison Oliver, is out this spring. “After some evaluation, I decided that I was done with that career and ready for something different, although I wasn’t quite sure what.

“So, instead of looking for another career job, I took up odd jobs — flipping burgers, wearing a Viking helmet at an outdoor market, working backstage on various theater shows and eventually, becoming a nanny. While nannying, I started reading a lot of children’s books again and fell in love with the picture book format. I immediately set out to learn all I could about the craft of writing for children through classes, workshops and online research. Of course, the kids I was nannying provided lots of inspiration, too.

“I started writing with the goal of publication in the fall of 2010. I spent the next few years doing all that I could to strengthen my craft. In the summer of 2013, I signed with an agent and then the focus became polishing my manuscripts to get them ready for sale. I sold my first book, ‘Penguinaut!’ to Scholastic in the fall of 2014, quickly followed by the sale of ‘Love, Triangle’ to HarperCollins in a five-publishing house auction a few months later. I wouldn’t say it was easy to get published. It was a lot of hard work. But I truly enjoyed the journey and continue to love the process.”

“The Bear’s Garden” is inspired by a true story of a community garden and exemplifies how imagination and dedication can transform communities to create beauty for everyone in unexpected places. Her other book, “Love, Triangle,” was named the Bank Street College of Education’s Best Children’s Book in 2018. “Penguinaut!” was voted One Book Colorado for 2019, and 75,000 copies of the book were distributed to every 4-year-old in the state. She is a faculty member for Kidlit Writing School, San Diego Writers, Ink and the University of California San Diego Extension.

Q: What’s the premise of “The Bear’s Garden”? Please talk about the Pacific Street Brooklyn Bear’s Community Garden.

A: “The Bear’s Garden” was inspired by the real-life Pacific Street Brooklyn Bear’s Community Garden in my former neighborhood in New York City. The name always puzzled me — I mean, we didn’t have bears wandering around Brooklyn last I checked!

Come to find out, the garden was named for a teddy bear that was found in the weeds when the workers began to create a garden in the abandoned lot. Of course, immediately I started wondering about that little bear. How did he get there? Did he belong to anyone? Was he placed there on purpose?

“The Bear’s Garden” is my imaginative story about how the teddy bear came to be in those weeds. It’s also a love letter to my former neighborhood and the power of community that I felt while living there. I am the girl who finds love and beauty in every inch of urban paradise.

Q: How can a city be a place to grow, play and love?

A: I think cities are fertile ground where lots of growing happens, literally and metaphorically. Although I did not grow up in New York City, I feel as if I did a lot of growing while there. There’s something about an environment packed with so many people, ideas and structures that caused me to figure out how to pop through the pavement cracks and find my own space. I think that is where imagination comes in. It’s vital because without an imagination to be able to see the potential in all things, even concrete abandoned lots, hope could be lost. Without hope, growing ceases.

Q: What is the importance of one person caring and the power of community?

A: It just takes one person. Not everyone is a leader, so when one person takes that first step, often the passion becomes contagious and others join in. Together we create things that are much bigger than ourselves. It’s the coming together with others for a common goal where true magic and power lies, in my opinion.

Q: Who is Alison Oliver? How did you work together for this book?

A: Alison Oliver is the illustrator of “The Bear’s Garden,” among many other wonderful books. We did not work closely together on the book. Publishers keep authors and illustrators separate, with the editor and art director working as ‘go-betweens.’ However, a picture book is very much a seamless blending of text and visuals. While my words inspired Alison’s artwork, her images bring additional story and emotion to the book. And now that the book is complete, it is difficult for me to pinpoint where my work ends and Alison’s begins.

Q: Are you a gardener yourself?

A: I truly wish I were a gardener. My mother is a very talented gardener, and I often wished I had her green thumb. Many a house plant hasn’t done well in my care. I remember once when I was a kid, I was given a cactus. I guess we can say I loved that cactus to death because I watered it … every day. Until one day, it grew spongy and died. It’s that balance of care and neglect I — or my plants — suffer from. Of course, many people here in Southern California tell me I should grow succulents because they are impossible to kill. I am here to tell you all that that is a lie. I’m sorry to say that I know this as fact.

I am better off admiring the gardens of others. I live close to Balboa Park and really enjoy its many gardens. I love strolling through the Japanese Friendship Garden with its canopy of cherry blossoms, the labyrinth of the Alcazar Garden with its many hedges and flower beds and the various cactus gardens.

Q: Why did you relocate to San Diego, and what do you miss about Brooklyn?

A: My husband and I relocated to San Diego in September of 2015 for his job. I don’t think either one of us were ready to leave Brooklyn, but we also loved San Diego and were up for a new adventure. I miss the large circle of friends I had in Brooklyn. I also miss seasons — the sparkling quiet of the first snowfall in the city or walking through the park crunching a carpet of autumn leaves. But you can’t beat San Diego’s weather and all of the beauty which grows around us all year round. And I also love the smell of the ocean. Whenever I am really overwhelmed I like to go to the ocean and just breathe deeply. There is a scientific fact that negative ions in ocean air reduce stress and improve mood.

Q: What writing community have you found here, and why is it important to you?

A: Writing is a solitary endeavor, but I am a fairly social person. So finding community is very important to me. The children’s literature community is very large in New York City. There was never a lack of events to mingle at and workshops to attend. It was easy to feel like I was part of something. But, as you can imagine, the Kidlit community is a little smaller here. Vibrant, but smaller. The San Diego chapter of the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators (SCBWI) is one of the most active chapters in the country. But one thing that is different about my writing community here is that it has expanded to include writers of many different formats and genres — poets, memoirists, adult fiction novelists. And in that way, I feel like my community might be a little richer here.

Q: What were your favorite books when you were young?

A: Some of my favorite books when I was a child were: “Bread and Jam for Frances” by Russell Hoban, illustrated by Lillian Hoban, “Caps for Sale” by Esphyr Slobodkina, the Curious George books, and anything by Richard Scarry. I loved spunky characters who didn’t always do the right thing and illustrations packed with so much story I could pore over them for hours.

“The Bear’s Garden” by Marcie Colleen and illustrated by Alison Oliver, Imprint, 40 pages

Virtual event with Marcie Colleen

When: 2 p.m. May 16

Where: Mysterious Galaxy’s Facebook page

Online: mystgalaxy.com

Davidson is a freelance writer.