Alice Briere-Haquet – författare

As far as he can tell, Bear is the biggest thing around. He might even be a giant! It's not long before other, smaller animals set him straight in this charmingly illustrated book about counting and relative size. Together, two walruses, three foxes and so on, are the same size as Bear, each teasing him for foolishly thinking that there is nothing bigger than he. When six sardines arrive to tell Bear that together, they are just as big as he is, Bear has had enough and gobbles them up for breakfast.

Arthur Schopenhauer (1788-1860) was a German philosopher and a proponent of pessimistic philosophy. Deeply cynical of love and the want for children, he believed humans are all mere animals – just far more unhappy, because of our self-awareness.The porcupine dilemma is a metaphor about the challenges of human intimacy. Schopenhauer believed that, despite our good intentions, human intimacy cannot occur without substantial harm.By adapting famous animal parables, the Pocket Philosophy series seeks to introduce inquisitive readers of all ages – from 1 to 100! – to the biggest names in philosophy.

Epictetus (c. 50-c. 135 AD) was a Greek Stoic philosopher. He believed that philosophy should be a way of life and not just a theoretical study. In this story, Epictetus is reminding us to focus only on what we can control – our own actions – and not spend time worrying about what we can't control. Happiness can only be achieved when we accept what we can't control and adopt the most positive outlook we can.By adapting famous animal parables, the Pocket Philosophy series seeks to introduce inquisitive readers of all ages – from 1 to 100! – to the biggest names in philosophy.

Zhuangzi (late 4th century BC) was one of China's most significant proponents of Daoism. Daoism is an ancient philosophy that strives for harmony with nature, virtuousness and self-development. Zhuangzi's story of the dreaming philosopher and the butterfly is meant to challenge us to think about one big question: how do we really know what's real?By adapting famous animal parables, the Pocket Philosophy series seeks to introduce inquisitive readers of all ages – from 1 to 100! – to the biggest names in philosophy.

Martin Heidegger (1889-1976) is one of the most influential – and controversial – philosophers of the twentieth century. He is mostly associated with existentialism (the study of human experience) and phenomenology (the study of consciousness), and his work was enormously influential.In this story, Heidegger is exploring the relationship between 'beings' and their environments. How much does each – the rock, the lizard and the human – understand of the world around them?By adapting famous animal parables, the Pocket Philosophy series seeks to introduce inquisitive readers of all ages – from 1 to 100! – to the biggest names in philosophy.