About the Book:

“Shhh, Bela, Kata is sleeping.”
Bela lowers his voice so I can barely hear. “Last week the Secret Police called two of my classmates in for questioning.”
Mama sucks in her breath. “What did the AVO want with them?
“Want? What do they ever want?” My brother is raising his voice again. “They want us to inform on our friends, our relatives, our parents.”
“Shh, Bela. Tell me what happened to your classmates.”
“For three hours, they were questioned.”
“What were they asked?”
“What do you do for the people? How do you contribute to the success of the Hungarian Workers’ Party? Why were you seen talking to so and so last week? If you don’t want trouble, come back next week with five names for us.”
My mother puts down her cup. “Okay, so they were questioned and released. Nothing happened.”
“Next time they might not be so lucky. Mama, you don’t understand. We are being watched.”

Set in 1948 in Budapest, Bear Makers is the story of one family trying to survive in post-war Hungary. When their family first returned from hiding after the war, they were glad to be reunited, glad to return to their homes, and hopeful that life was going to improve. But the secret police force, known as the AVO, is questioning everyone about their loyalty to the Hungarian Workers Party. And conditions in Budapest seem to be worsening.

Eleven-year-old Kata doesn’t understand why her brother Bela is acting so differently lately or why he hasn’t come home from his recent excursion. Her father is depressed and sometimes he doesn’t go to work at all. He used to be the owner of the factory, but now he is an employee whose wages continue to be cut. He refuses to become a member of the Hungarian Workers Party, which causes him no end of trouble. Along with her friend and neighbor, Eva, Kata joins the young pioneers, a group dedicated to teaching communist principals to children. She’s often torn between doing the right thing for her country and helping her family. But she diligently helps her mother sew the bears and handbags that they will sell on the black market to help make ends meet. Eventually she learns that Bela has escaped to Vienna, Austria, just in time, as conditions at the border are growing increasingly dangerous. At first, Kata is angry and sad, but eventually she becomes hopeful that someday he will make it to America and will send for her and her parents. She will begin studying English so she’s ready when the time comes.

Author Perspective:

I was helping my mother clean out her cluttered sewing room when I came upon a pattern traced on brittle paper along with instructions for sewing a bear. As I searched on the dusty shelf, I also found a box of glass eyes and metal pieces. My mother told me the story of my grandmother’s bear and handbag business. During the early Communist era, it was illegal to have a business and especially to hire employees, but my grandfather could not earn enough to keep food on the table. In her usual purposeful way, my grandmother found a way to support her family. This is the “seed” of THE BEAR MAKERS.
On top of my bookcase is an old bear that my grandmother made before I was born. His photo is on the cover and title page of THE BEAR MAKERS, and pictures of the pattern are on the chapter headings. As I was working on the manuscript, I often looked at the bear with his sagging head, and he inspired me as I wrote.