A picture book with beautiful watercolor illustrations by Judith Gosse, BEA and HONEY: The Secret will soothe the broken hearts of readers, young and old, who have experienced the death of a pet. Pets are family members. The loss of a beloved pet causes profound grief. In BEA and HONEY: The Secret, we see a scenario where our pet is not totally gone, but still nearby always, even if we cannot see them.

Claudia Teetsel is a lifetime dog lover. She is also a passionate supporter of Power Paws Assistance Dogs, Inc., an organization that trains dogs for children and adults with Type 1 Diabetes, PTSD, and mobility challenges. Claudia lives in Arizona, where she and her husband Jeff have raised two sons, Ryan and Jason. Some of Claudia's favorite memories are the countless hours spent reading to them when they were young, with their family dog, Coco, always in the mix. The Teetsel family were filled with grief when Coco died unexpectedly at an early age. Three years later, when he was sixteen, Jason painted their current dog, Pearl, chasing Coco through a meadow of yellow wildflowers. The family never had both dogs at the same time.

Jason's painting, featured on the cover, was the inspiration for BEA and HONEY: The Secret. Judith Gosse is an illustrator and designer who enjoyed a long and rewarding career in San Francisco and Silicon Valley while raising two active, talented daughters. She spent her free time playing softball and volunteering for the PTA, as well as working with animal rescue organizations. Judith moved to Washington DC where she worked as an illustrator for the DoD and the FAA for several years. In 2018 she left the fast-paced city life and now illustrates children's books in her Illinois studio.

"My mom insisted that my first word was pencil," she says. "Now I am delighted to be doing exactly what I have always wanted to do - draw for children."