PRESS RELEASE - (Immediate - no embargo)
Children's author uses magical stories to introduce children to local democracy and encourage them to play their part in shaping their communities.
NEW BOOK:
THE MAYOR’S BEAR AND OTHER STORIES OF HOPE
The new edition of ‘The Mayor’s Bear’ is published on 26 September 2026. It is available now for order from all good high street bookshops and online.
This new edition is published with three new short stories and teacher notes - with a focus on engaging young people in thinking how they might get involved in shaping their communities.
The core original story features a Town Mayor who loses something very precious to her town until a magimistical bear helps her to remember where she put it. But will Mayor Roxie have remembered in time to make her appearance at the annual festival of teddy bears?!
The new three short stories feature the same characters this time with a focus on:
- Making children’s playgrounds more welcoming and inclusive
- Celebrating the achievement of a local young woman refugee
- Creating kinder and more dementia friendly towns
All the stories are about introducing young people to how local government works. The book encourages youngsters (and through them, their parents and carers) to initiate and be part of efforts to make their places kinder, more creative, more ambitious and fun for all.
The book has been welcomed:
Callum Anderson, the MP for Buckingham and Bletchley says: “I am proud to support my constituent, Jon Harvey, in this wonderful project. The Mayor’s Bear and Other Stories of Hope celebrates kindness, inclusion and community spirit through engaging stories for young people. At a time when so much can divide us, helping young people believe they can make a positive difference in their local communities is something I think we can all agree on.”
Councillor Fran Davies, the current Mayor of Buckingham says: “Jon's storytelling reflects his passion for fairness, equality and inclusivity in all aspects of life”
Councillor Robina Ahmed, the current Deputy Mayor of Buckingham says: “Join Roxie and Strumbold on their adventures around Neitherneither End. A collection of stories encapsulating themes of community and hope. An engaging and enchanting read, skilfully composed and well illustrated”
Jon Harvey, author of the stories says:
“Our world is facing huge challenges. So huge that they often appear to be insurmountable. And this in turn depresses many and makes us feel weak and powerless. And many people have lost confidence in our political leaders to address these challenges successfully. For a lot of us, these are very bleak and gloomy times indeed.
One of the main reasons I have written this new edition is to encourage people - especially young people - to defy the gloom and the cynicism about politics and get involved!
All the stories show how a local councillor (Mayor Roxie) and her trusty, magimistical bear (Strumbold) are inspired to make a difference in their local town. As Roxie declares in the book - whilst she cannot change the world, she can help make one bit of it better!
Everything starts with 'one bit better'.
Every movement, every idea, every seed for transforming our world creatively and kindly starts with one person believing that their bit of the world can be made better.
And that is why I am thrilled to have produced a new edition of my book which goes further in thinking about how local places can address the big challenges we all face. The new stories focus even more on nurturing and achieving ambitions, making places more welcoming and building kinder communities.
If my book nudges just one youngster or maybe two to go on to become local councillors and make real differences in their communities, then I will be over the moon with joy”
I adore asking people - young and old - the question: If you were Town Mayor, what would you change about where you live?”
STOP PRESS: Jon is appearing at the MKLitFest Indie Book Show on 26 September 2026 - journalists and all are most welcome! He will be running a workshop for children as well as talking with festival visitors about his children’s novel.
Contact:
- jon@jonharveyassociates.co.uk
- https://www.facebook.com/jon.harvey.7739/
- https://bsky.app/profile/jonsharvey.bsky.social
Some ideas about how to order the book
Waterstones UK / Amazon UK / University of Buckingham Bookshop
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