In the high-stakes world of air traffic control, there is no room for ambiguity. For nearly twenty-five years, Charles Paul Harman has spent his career ensuring safety in the skies, a job defined by precision, clear signals, and the constant management of movement. But when he steps out of the tower and picks up his pen under the name Charlie Hart, he enters a different world entirely—one where the stakes are emotional, the signals are heartfelt, and the destination is the imagination of a child.
Hart’s debut children’s book, Jillian Bear and the Grandpa Scare, is more than just a bedtime story about a bear cub and a shaving mishap. It is a tender, illustrated vessel of love, born from a desire to bridge the gap between the past and the future.
A Story Born from “Once Upon a Time”
To understand the heart of Jillian Bear, you have to understand the heart of the man writing it. In a candid revelation about his inspiration, Hart shares a sentiment that stops you in your tracks: “Once upon a time in another lifetime ago, my Gillian changed my life by making me more than just a father. She made me Daddy.”
The “Jillian” in the title is a tribute to Hart’s late daughter. The book, and the series he plans to write following it, serves a profound purpose: to help his younger children, Joanna and William, build a relationship with the big sister they never got to meet in this world. It is a way to keep her name spoken, her spirit present, and her memory woven into the fabric of their childhoods.
This backstory adds a layer of poignant beauty to the text. When you read the dedication—“For Gillian, Joanna, and William. You guys are my heart, my soul, my world”—you realize this isn’t a commercial product. It’s a love letter.
The Big Scary Change
The premise of Jillian Bear and the Grandpa Scare is delightfully simple, yet it taps into a universal childhood anxiety: the fear of the unknown.
The story introduces us to Jillian, a small bear who loves the routine comfort of her grandparents’ house. She knows the sights, the sounds, and specifically, she knows Grandpa Bear—a “HUGE” bear with a head of white hair and a distinctive white mustache. To Jillian, that mustache is as much a part of Grandpa as his kindness.
The conflict arises from a domestic twist that any parent will recognize. While Jillian naps on her special blanket, Grandpa decides it’s time for a trim. When Jillian wakes up, the figure standing in the doorway isn’t the Grandpa she knows. It’s a stranger. The mustache is gone.
Hart writes, “This new bear might have been even bigger than Grandpa Bear. What had happened to Grandpa Bear?!?”
In this moment, Hart captures the genuine, often overlooked terror that children feel when their environment shifts without warning. To an adult, it’s just a shave. To a child, it’s an identity crisis. The safety of the familiar has been ruptured.
The Power of Senses and Safety
What makes the resolution of the story so winning is how Hart handles the “reveal.” He doesn’t have Grandpa explain the situation away with logic immediately. Instead, he leans into the sensory experiences that define early childhood.
Bears, as the narrator reminds us, don’t have the best eyesight, but they have excellent noses. When the “scary stranger” speaks, he uses a familiar phrase: “Jilly Bear, you silly bear.” It’s a clue, but the clincher is the scent.
Jillian sniffs the air. She smells her blanket. She smells the house. And then, in the book’s emotional crescendo: “SHE SMELLED GRANDPA BEAR!!!”
It is a gentle but powerful lesson for young readers: outward appearances may change, but the essence of the people we love remains the same. The mustache doesn’t make the man (or the bear); the love does.
A Tool for Connection
Hart has been clear about his target audience. This is a book written for grandparents and parents to read to the “young readers just starting out on their adventures.” It bridges the generational gap, providing a perfect excuse for a grandparent to pull a grandchild into their lap and say, “See? Even if I change, I’m always your Grandpa.”
The illustrations vividly bring this cozy world to life. The transition from the terrifying “stranger” back to the loving Grandpa—who scoops Jillian up in his “ginormous arms”—is visually comforting.
But Hart didn’t stop at the story. Understanding that engagement is key for young minds, the back of the book transforms into an activity center. “Now it’s your turn to have fun!” the book announces, offering coloring pages of the scenes children just read. It’s a brilliant marketing touch that invites the child to become a co-author of sorts, filling in the world of Jillian Bear with their own favorite colors.
Courage, Comfort, and the Magic of Bedtime
In his marketing questionnaire, Hart noted that he wants his readers to learn that “not every little change is a reason to be scared.” It is a message that resonates as much with adults as it does with toddlers. We all face our own “Grandpa Scares”—moments where life shifts, familiar faces change, or the world looks a little different than it did before we took our nap.
Hart’s advice to his readers is simple: “Be kind to the world around you. Love everyone you meet.”
Through the character of Jillian, Hart has given his late daughter a voice that will whisper comfort to countless other children. He has taken the pain of loss and transmuted it into a story of safety.
Jillian Bear and the Grandpa Scare is a gentle story about courage, comfort, and the magic of bedtime. But beneath the surface, it is a father’s promise kept. It is a reminder that no matter how much things change, the people we love are never truly lost to us—we just have to know how to find them.
Jillian Bear and the Grandpa Scare is available now on Amazon. Visit www.charliehartbooks.com for more information on Charlie Hart’s journey and upcoming stories.
