Explorers Are We Inc.

Quill and Quire September 6, 2006: After three years spent marketing their self-published children's series Jasper's Great Canadian Adventure in and around the Calgary area, Doug and Shannon Chapman decided to try to broaden their books' readership by signing on for distribution with Fitzhenry & Whiteside in June.

The Chapmans developed the series after taking a road trip from Hanna, Alberta to Burlington, Ontario. The couple realized that although they'd traveled the world together, there was much of Canada they did not know. Their desire to discover more about their home country and share their discoveries with children inspired the photo-illustrated series that follows Jasper, a stuffed polar bear, as he travels eastward across Canada in search of his owner, Little Girl. Doug Chapman recalls thinking, "This would be a really cool way to show little kids and their parents all the different things there are to do in Canada." On their return trip, the couple kept an eye out for noteworthy spots to feature in their books.

Most of the marketing for the first three books in the series was done by Doug Chapman. He gave readings at elementary schools, pitched various media outlets, and developed the website for Explorers Are We, the couple's publishing company. Initially, the books were distributed by Kelowna-based Sandhill Book Marketing and sold successfully in the more touristy areas of Alberta, as visitors from across the country and the world purchased them as souvenirs from Canada. This grassroots dissemination of Jasper's travels has taken the stuffed bear to some 58 countries. Chapman tracks visitors to the website and has even received email from someone in the Congo about the series.

The first two titles sold over 4,000 copies in the first two years, with distribution solely in western Canada, and Chapman is hopeful that national distribution with Fitzhenry & Whiteside will see sales numbers increase. Pat O'Neill, sales and marketing director at Fitzhenry & Whiteside, says that her company plans to let Chapman continue doing most of the marketing for the series, relying on his "particular gig" of speaking at schools to take Jasper's success further east.

Chapman attributes the appeal of the books to their real-life portrayal of Canadian sites and scenes: "[They] show the actual locations, not just the usual watercolour pictures or illustrations." He and Jasper have just returned home to Calgary after a trip to Saskatchewan in preparation for their next book, Jasper Explores the Prairies, which is tentatively set for publication next June.

Doug and Shannon Chapman's story of Jasper is a beautifully told story of a forgotten stuffed bear who is trying to find his way back to the "Little Girl" who lost him. Jasper is accidentally left on a park bench when Little Girl and her father go in search of an ice cream cone.

The authors' target audience is children ages 2-6. They use language that is age-appropriate for this group and young children will be completely taken in by the natural story line as sets off from Jasper to find Little Girl.

The beautiful, full-colour photographs, with Jasper the stuffed polar bear superimposed or set in the picture, would be very familiar to anyone who has traveled through this part of Canada. It would be just as entertaining hearing the story and seeing these famous scenes for the first time.

As Jasper continues on his travels he meets a "monster" which turns out to be a timber wolf, named Tundra. They find out that they have many things in common and they become fast friends. At the end of the story, Jasper and Tundra set out together to continue on the quest to find Jasper's lost Little Girl.

This is the first in the Jasper's Great Canadian Adventure series. After reading this book, I think that children and adults will be anxiously waiting to continue the adventure with Jasper and Tundra as they continue to explore the Pacific Coast.

Joy Bissoon, Teacher Librarian
Appraisals, Library Media Services, Winnipeg School Division

I must echo the sentiments expressed on the inner leaf of the book cover: "Two paws way UP!" Doug and Shannon Chapman have written a lovely tale of a beloved toy trying to find its way back to the "Little Girl" who owns him. Jasper is accidentally left on a park bench when Little Girl and her father go to get an ice cream cone. Of course, he is left in Jasper, Alberta. Jasper, the bear, then decides to take matters into his own paws and make his way back to Little Girl who lives near the Big Water.

The authors target their audience, ages 2-6, with age appropriate dialogue. The story, although fairly long, avoids nonessential words and sentences, gets to the point and moves at a steady pace. The story is gentle without being sappy and conveys the sense of loneliness the bear feels without dwelling on his anxiety over being lost.

His adventures include meeting an elk that doesn't know what to make of a talking stuffed bear. When the bear inquires as to the whereabouts of Little Girl, the elk just stares blankly at him. "He didn't mean to be rude; it's just that he didn't speak Cuddle Buddy and Jasper? Well he couldn't speak Critter."

He passes by Maligne Lake, sets out on the Trans-Canada Highway, canoes across Moraine Lake and sticks one paw into the chilly waters of Lake Louise. His travels are embellished with wonderful photographs taken on location using a stuffed polar bear with a red Canada-flag backpack posed as the bear in the story. Children familiar with this part of Canada should have little trouble picking out some of the locations. The story and photographs will, nonetheless, entertain those children who have never traveled the Rocky Mountains.

Mid-way through the story, Jasper has a rather humorous encounter with a monster that turns out to be another lost toy - a timberwolf. The two become fast friends and decide to head off to find Little Girl together.

This book is meant to be first in a series of books exploring Canada. The next book takes Jasper to the Pacific Coast. I'm impressed that, while the objective of the book is to introduce Canada's natural beauty to young readers, the story of a little bear on an adventure holds its own as a gentle, amusing and adventurous story for young readers.

Barb Taylor, of Calgary, AB, is an early childhood educator and freelance travel writer.
CM: Canadian Review of Materials

JASPER'S CREATORS COMING TO BANFF

Banff Crag & Canyon - There's a new bear on the block.

Meet Jasper, a stuffed Canadian polar bear who is on an adventure across the country, and his first stop is in the Canadian Rockies.
Jasper is a creation by Calgarians Doug and Shannon Chapman and his story, Jasper Explores the Rocky Mountains, is told through picture books for young children ages 3 to 6.

The bear begins his journey after being lost by his "little girl," and travels through Jasper, Lake Louise, Banff and Canmore in search of her. On his way, he makes new friends and encounters various obstacles as he learns about friendship and the great country he lives in.

The authors have created a series of books in which Jasper makes his way across Canada, and they will be reading this first book at the Banff Public Library this Saturday at 11:30 a.m. An afternoon reading is set for Canmore Public Library at 2 p.m. Storytime is open to the general public, and the Chapmans will be happy to answer questions following the reading.

Written and photographed by Doug and Shannon themselves, these books include digital photographs of a variety of Canadian landscapes with the stuffed polar bear. Doug and Shannon got the idea for the book several years ago after backpacking around Australia and Asia. "When we got back we started thinking about how we'd seen all these great places but we hadn't seen any of our own country," Doug says. So they drove across Canada and got the idea for a book that would teach kids about their country. "We just starting thinking that it would be kind of a cool way to show little kids all the different things there are to do in Canada." So Jasper was created, given a backpack and some Canadian paraphernalia, and started on his great Canadian adventure.

The Chapmans published the book themselves and have since published a second book, Jasper Explores the Pacific Coast. A third book is also in the making and will be available this summer, entitled Jasper Explores the Wild West. The intention of the authors is to keep writing books until Jasper has made his way across all the provinces and into the Territories. "In the next book he comes through Alberta again for the Wild West book," says Doug. "Then after that he's going off to Saskatchewan and he'll just keep on making his way east."

So far, about 3,300 books have been sold mainly in Western Canada. Jasper Explores the Rocky Mountains and Jasper Explores the Pacific Coast are available at The Banff Book and Art Den and Café Books in Canmore.

          Sabrina Fabian
          Banff Crag & Canyon and Canmore Leader
          Banff and Canmore, AB

Hanna Herald - Hanna Author, Shannon Chapman, and her husband, Doug, were in town last week promoting their second book about Jasper the bear and his Canadian adventures.
"Our book is not see bear here, and see bear there but it is an actual story that you can read," Shannon said, "and it happens to show real life locations and real things - not illustrations."
Their first book, released last year, saw the bear make his way through the Rocky Mountains.
This years release has taken Jasper through British Columbia where he meets new friends, monsters and even a whale.
They came up with the idea over ten years ago while they were overseas, Doug said.
"We came up with the idea when we were backpacking around Australia."
"We had a little beanie baby with us and we were taking pictures of him climbing Ayers rock and on the beach," he said.
"The technology wasn't there when we had the idea," Shannon said, "We thought that someone else would do it and we would buy it."
The couple moved on with their lives but the idea came up again after they had their first child.
"When our daughter was born and we were reading to her we were craving something that had actual pictures," Shannon said.
"That was something we just didn't see in the market."
Instead of going with a publisher the couple have taken on more responsibility than other authors.
"It only took a year from starting our company until the book was out," Doug said.
"The Canadian publishers we talked to really wanted us to Americanize it - take out all the Canadian references so they could market it for the States."
"We didn't want to do that because the whole point was that it was going to be about Canada and show kids the things there are to do in Canada," he said.
The couple have worked with a distributor to help them market the book but are going to seek a wider audience with their third release.
"We will be looking at trying to get a little more national distribution," Shannon said, but because Hanna features in the book there will need to be regional distributions as well.
"He needs to visit our home towns - that is a given," she said.
In the third book Jasper will come back through Alberta, Shannon said, which will give them a chance to show more of the province.
The couple enjoyed a visit to the primary school and the library during their stop last week.
"It's fun because the kids will give us ideas," Doug said, "Like when we were at school here they were saying, 'you should have puzzles', and I'd never thought of that."
The book has been able to reach an international audience, thanks to the couples efforts.
"The first one is available at gift shops in Banff, Lake Louise and Jasper so people on vacation are picking it up," Shannon said.
Her colleagues have sent the book to South Africa, Australia, New Zealand, Belgium, Holland and Japan.
The success with the kids is action shots, Shannon said.
"Kids want to see the character being animated," she said, "they want to know he camped, made smores and went surfing."

          Chandra Lye
          Hanna Herald
          Hanna, Alberta

JASPER'S BACK- Authors Shannon and Doug Chapman have returned with their friend Jasper for another adventure. The couple were in Hanna last week and stopped by the primary school to read to the students before they appeared at the library to sign copies of their work.

"Doug Chapman's life now revolves around a stuffed polar bear. Sure, it may sound meek, but he's loving every minute of it. Doug, and his wife Shannon are Explorers Are We Inc., and have been touring Canada to promote their first book, "Jasper's Great Canadian Adventure; Book 1: Jasper Explores the Rocky Mountains."

Chapman, who grew up in Burlington and took the advertising program at Sheridan College, went with wife Shannon across the country photographing Jasper the stuffed Polar Bear in incredible scenic areas for the full colour children's book. The story is based around Jasper getting lost in the Rocky Mountains and trying to find his way home, meeting up with other stuffed animals and seeing some of the great sights Canada has to offer.

The book idea began 10 years ago when Doug met Shannon while working at EPCOT Center in Disney World. The bear was a gift to Shannon from Doug, and has been treasured ever since. Treasured so much in fact, that the couple's book is based around it.

The Chapmans say of the book, "It was created to introduce kids to the beauty of Canada and to remind grown-ups who may have forgotten." The first book in what is sure to be an epic series is available at Chapters at the Oakville Town Centre."

          Michael Howie
          Oakville Today
          Oakville, Ontario

KIDS BOOK SHARES CANADA'S CHARM
TOY POLAR BEAR'S ADVENTURES IN ROCKIES ARE FIRST IN A SERIES

"Jasper Explores the Rocky Mountains takes readers on a visual journey through the areas of Lake Louise, Banff, Jasper and Canmore, AB.

"Jasper's Great Canadian Adventure was created to introduce kids to the beauty of Canada and to remind grown-ups who may have forgotten," said Doug, a former Burlington resident. "It's a series of travel books for anybody who has ever wondered what lies beyond their own backyard."

Doug will hold a book signing on Saturday (Nov.20) from 2-4 p.m. at Chapters in Burlington. Aimed primarily at children aged 3-7, the book is filled with original photos shot during the Chapman's trips to the Rocky Mountains. Hero Jasper is shown in numerous mountain scenarios, such as paddling a canoe and toasting a marshmallow over a campfire. Doug experienced his own adventures, he was charged by an elk and attacked by a chipmunk while taking photographs.

The Chapmans combined to write the text in a language that's age appropriate for young readers and engaging for a parent to read to a non-reader. Through their company, Explorers Are We Inc., they are donating more than 4000 copies of Jasper's Great Canadian Adventure to Ronald McDonald House and other children's charities.

The Chapman's travels abroad and across Canada inspired them to write the series introducing children to the country and reminding grown-ups about the country's beauty. The Chapmans met while working at Walt Disney World and traveled throughout Australia. They were later inspired by their own country when driving from Hanna, AB to Burlington.

Doug was born and raised in Burlington, graduating from Nelson High School. He worked for the advertising departments of The Burlington Post and Brabant Newspapers, plus the family firm, Chapman Morris Advertising Ltd. (and) worked in sports marketing for the Calgary Stampeders and Calgary Flames. Besides traveling, his other adventures have included sky diving, scuba diving and swimming with dolphins."

          Dennis Smith, Arts Editor
          The Burlington Post
          Burlington, ON

"A former Hanna resident plans to return to her roots and return home for a book signing in November. Shannon Chapman, daughter of Allan and Diana Scott, and her husband Doug will be coming to Hanna on November 9 to sign books and read to local children. Between noon and 1 p.m. on Tuesday, November 9, Chapman will be at the Hanna Library to sign copies of the first book in her new children's series.

The concept for the series originally came about when the Chapmans returned from a backpacking trip that spanned Australia and set out across Canada to visit Doug's parents in Ontario. "I hadn't seen my family in Ontario for a couple of years so we decided to drive across Canada," said Doug Chapman. "We kept finding all these different, cool places and as we were driving cross country we thought about the idea. It kind of evolved from there."

Unfortunately for the Chapmans the publishing companies that they approached with the ideas suggested that they "Americanize" the series. Unwilling to do so they set out to publish the series themselves. "Our goal is to create a Canadian Curious George," said Chapman. "We want a book our kids can get excited about, that's known around the world as our own."

Following the book signing, Chapman will be at the Hanna Primary School where she will be reading to many of the individual classes at the school. Copies will be available at the Hanna Herald office."
          Rick Conkin
          The Hanna Herald
          Hanna, AB

"We wanted to thank you so very much for your kind donation of "Jasper" books to our Refugee and Newcomer programs. We give a book to every new family and they absolutely love them!"
          Nina Kesel
          MCC Refugee Program
          Calgary, AB

"I love this book. Its so much fun. I don't have children, but I was totally enchanted..."
          Jocelyn Laidlaw
          CFCN "The News at Noon"
         Calgary, AB

"Thank you for your generous donation of books to our One World Child Development Centre. Currently, there are 56 families who struggle with poverty attending One World. We offer Pre-School, Kindergarten and Parenting Programs. As we are now in the process of developing our "Library" at One World, these books come at an excellent time. Many of our families do not have access to books to read with their children. Poverty limits many of these opportunities. Literacy and time together as a family is critical to child development. We work to give these children opportunities they would not normally get. Thank you for supporting us with this goal. Please know these books will be put to excellent use."
          Carlene Donnelly
         Executive Director
         CUPS
         Calgary, AB

"Kids and bears go hand in hand and this book is sure to bring smiles to countless faces as children escape the confines of the hospital on an imaginary journey with Jasper. What a bonus that they may take away a little more knowledge about Canada, too! On behalf of the children, families and staff at Alberta Children's Hospital, thank you for sharing Jasper's story with them."
          Lisa Stephen
          Manager, Stewardship & Donor Relations
          Alberta Children's Hospital Foundation
          Calgary, AB

We've also heard some nice things from Explorers' Influences (see Links page).
We can't name, but let's just say we were pretty happy!