Soggy the Bear Series of bestselling children’s stories
The very first tale of Soggy the Bear where he meets Grandfather in rather unusual circumstances. This is an uplifting tale which highlights the dangers of the sea and the tides and introduces Soggy to his new home and friends in the rescue chair.
A chance meeting between Illustrator Michael Foreman and Master Mariner Phil Moran began this creative collaboration and led to a life-long friendship.
Phil’s real-life harbourside house with its balcony and astounding views is the setting for the Soggy Bear stories. All of the toy characters featured in the stories have been found on the beach and lived their lives in the appropriately named ‘rescue chair’ in Phil’s front room.
The very first tale of Soggy the Bear where he meets Grandfather in rather unusual circumstances. This is an uplifting tale which highlights the dangers of the sea and the tides and introduces Soggy to his new home and friends in the rescue chair.
Patrick is Grandfather’s very little Bear, so small that he gets stolen by a pesky seagull!
Grandfather decides to build a flying machine to fly above the town and find where the naughty seagull has taken Patrick. A flying machine needs a pilot so it’s Soggy to the rescue even though he is not that keen on being in the air!
With the wheat crop grown and harvested there isn’t much use for Captain the Scarecrow, so Soggy and Jack decide to take him home to live with Grandfather and the rest of the rescue chair creatures.
But before they can set out on their new adventures there is the small matter of making him some new legs!
Grandfather takes Jack and Soggy for a little trip out to sea where they visit the lighthouse. The sea soon becomes rough and stormy, and they end up being stranded overnight on the lighthouse rock.
To keep themselves occupied they begin to explore their overnight home and soon come across another marooned creature – a young mermaid.
The old pond high above town is a favorite place to sail model boats. Soggy and the little bear Patrick are enjoying themselves being sailor bears when a sudden thunderstorm floods the pond with torrential rain.
It causes so much flooding that Soggy finds himself having the ride of his life in the surging water.
Pebble the Dog finds a mysterious old wooden box washed up on the beach. Soggy and Jack open the box to discover a riddle written on an old parchment.
The intrepid explorers embark on a subterranean hunt through the smugglers tunnels for a secret hidden door, a cave, and a cat!
The Captain was always telling everyone in the rescue chair, and the whole town, about his famous old ship, The Mystery.
Many thought his tales were exaggerated as he was an extraordinary storyteller who would sit in front of his window gazing out to sea or feeding the birds who came to visit. Could it be true after all?
It was near Christmastime and Grandfather embarks on a small voyage around the coast to visit a friend and get himself a Christmas Tree.
Unfortunately, the weather turns and the little crew are buffeted by heavy snow and strong winds. They end up sheltering on an island where it was rumoured to be inhabited by a giant!
Philip Moran (Grandfather in the Soggy stories) tells his own boyhood story of being evacuated to St Ives and growing up surrounded by his young friends, as well as American and British soldiers and airmen.