FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

Subscribing is simply joining the journey.

Once you sign up, you become part of the monthly rhythm - one illustrated letter arriving each month as Otto & Bear’s story gently unfolds. Letters are mailed on or near the 14th.

If you join before the 14th, your first letter will travel to you that same month.

If you join after the 14th, your journey begins with the following month’s letter.

From there, the rhythm continues one letter, one moment of quiet wonder, month by month.

Digital Letters begin a little differently: your first Digital Letter is emailed on the day you join, and each following letter arrives monthly in that same quiet rhythm.

Otto & Bear's Letters are monthly, hand-illustrated chapters of a year-long adventure with Otto and Bear, delivered as real letters your child can open and hold.

Across twelve months, your child receives:

• 12 story letters, each one continuing the journey

• 3 additional seasonal letters that appear at special points in the year

Together, they create a slow-unfolding story that grows with your child.

Each letter builds on the last, following Otto and Bear through forests, mountains, hidden paths, and the quiet magic of the natural world.

For many families, opening the letter becomes a monthly ritual - a moment to pause, sit together, and step into the next chapter of the adventure.

Each month, your child receives a beautifully illustrated PDF letter they can read on a screen or print at home. These digital chapters follow the same story as the Paper Letters, unfolding gently through the seasons.

Across twelve months, your child receives:

• 12 story letters, each one continuing the journey

• 3 seasonal letters that appear at special moments in the year

Together, they create a slow-unfolding story that grows with your child.

Each digital letter builds on the last, following Otto and Bear through forests, mountains, hidden paths, and the quiet magic of the natural world.

For many families, opening the digital letter becomes a monthly ritual - a moment to pause, read together, and step into the next chapter of the adventure.

Your first Digital Letter is emailed on the day you join, and each one after follows the same monthly rhythm.

Gifting a subscription is simple.

You choose whether you’d like to gift the letters by mail or Digital , and the story begins from there.

Paper Letters
Paper Letters follow a monthly rhythm and are mailed on the 14th of each month.

To see when your recipient’s first letter will arrive, you can view our mailing schedule here.

Digital Letters
Digital Letters arrive instantly.

Your recipient’s first story is emailed on the start date you choose, and a new chapter arrives each month on the same date.

It’s a gentle, year-long gift that unfolds chapter by chapter.

The letters are written for children aged 5–12, but many families read them together with younger children who enjoy listening to the story unfold.

Older children often connect with the deeper themes woven into the journey through courage, friendship, nature, and paying attention to the world around them.

They’re designed to grow with your child, offering something different at each age.

For Digital Letters, one subscription is usually perfect for the whole household - the stories arrive to your inbox, and many families enjoy reading them together.

For Paper Letters, it depends on your children.

Some families share one letter; others prefer each child to receive their own envelope so the monthly ritual feels personal.

Either way works - choose whatever feels right for your family.

Paper Letters begin their journey close to your home.

With recent shifts in global mailing systems, we’ve chosen to print and mail from the region you’re in whenever possible, so each letter travels lightly and along familiar local paths.

Keeping the journey short allows your letter to move through local hands rather than across the world - gentler on the Earth, and free from unnecessary shipping miles.

Letters are posted on the 14th of each month, and most families receive them within a few days, depending on their local postal service.

You can find the mailing schedule for your first letter here.

Yes you can pause or cancel your subscription anytime through your account.

If you checked out as a guest, just send us a message and we’ll update it for you:

hello@ottoandbearsletters.com

For full details, you can read our subscription policies here.

We’re always here to help.

If you receive Paper Letters, you can update your postal address through your account.

Please make any changes at least seven days before our monthly mailing date so your letter travels to the right home.

If you need help, you’re welcome to email us at any time.

You can update your email at any time through your account settings.

Just make sure the change is made at least one week before your next letter date so everything reaches you correctly.

If you checked out as a guest, simply email us and we’ll update it for you:

hello@ottoandbearsletters.com

Whilst the story is fiction, it is woven from our family’s years living in Thailand, Costa Rica and our travels to Peru.

The two main characters are Bear, a young boy, and his cat Otorongo (Otto), who leads him into the deeper layers of the natural world - the places where the Earth is alive and speaking. Along the way, Bear learns to meditate, to listen, to connect with animals and the stars, and to trust the essence of who he is.

Otto introduces Bear to the language of the Earth, and together they travel to forests, mountains, rivers, and quiet, mystical places filled with the kind of magic children already sense.

The story also gently weaves in the ancestral teachings and perspectives of the Andean cosmovision, offered in a way that is simple, playful, and accessible for children (and adults).

The intention is to spark imagination, deepen connection with nature, and inspire a sense of wonder, belonging, and friendship with the world around them.

Otto & Bear’s Letters were created to help readers of all ages find their own unique relationship with nature, with the Earth, and with themselves.

Otto and Bear are inspired by my son, Bear, and our enormous, wise cat Otorongo, who adopted us while we were living in the northern mountains of Thailand.

Their real-life friendship - the quiet moments, the adventures, the way they seemed to understand each other became the heartbeat of the story.

In the letters, their bond opens the doorway into the wider world they explore together.

The Andean cosmovision is a way of living seen through a different lens - one that opens the heart to experiencing life, and reality itself, through our relationship with nature and the cosmos.

To walk this path is to rediscover profound aspects of our true essence; to remember who we really are.

It is rooted in the understanding that all things are interconnected - that harmony with nature, our environment, and the cosmos is not an idea but a lived relationship.

These teachings appear gently throughout the story. They are woven into Bear’s experiences: in the way he meets the mountains, listens to rivers, learns to meditate, and discovers that the living world is full of allies and quiet guidance.

The gift the Andes offer humanity is the knowing that the world is full of Spirit.

It invites us to fuse our essence with nature and to recognise that our greatest teachers and companions are the oceans, rivers, mountains, earth, flora, and fauna.