About Brown Bear Products
Brown Bear Products began in 1998 as a way to share the remarkable talent of Erik David Behnke — an Alaskan artist who experienced Down syndrome and autism, and who found his voice through ink, color, and the wilderness that surrounded him.
His mother, Linda Kay Thompson, has spent her life as both an educator and writer, supporting Erik’s art and building a family business that honors his gifts. Today, Brown Bear Products offers Erik’s prints, cards, books, and journals, all created with deep love and connection to Alaska.
Explore Erik’s Most Beloved Pieces
From iconic wildlife drawings to joyful scenes inspired by rural Alaska, every piece reflects the world Erik grew up in.
9 5/8” x 6 3/8”
A playful piece featuring a muskrat mid-season transition. The colors of the shedding fur are beautifully detailed, showing Erik’s eye for wildlife moments and personality.
Erik’s Story
Raised across remote corners of Alaska — from Lake Clark to Dillingham to the Copper River Valley — Erik grew up surrounded by wildlife, mountains, and the creative encouragement of his family. At 20 years old, during his time at Kenny Lake School, his artistic gift revealed itself in a way that changed the course of his life.
With dedication, support, and countless hours spent drawing animals he knew intimately from the wild, Erik became one of Alaska’s most successful artists with a severe disability. His pen-and-ink artwork has been exhibited across the United States, inspiring audiences from Boston to Manhattan to Phoenix.
Explore the Stories of Brown Bear Products
A 23-year journey from classroom to publication.
The Alaska Animal ABC Coloring Book began as Erik’s senior project at Kenny Lake School in 1999, originally crafted by hand with glue and paste. In 2022, Linda brought the project to completion during her college Adobe Photoshop studies, finally preparing Erik’s vision for publication in Anchorage.
This book features Erik’s original artwork and introduces children to Alaska wildlife from A to Z. It’s more than just a coloring book—it’s an educational journey through Alaska’s geography and art. Children can explore the included map to see how each letter of the alphabet relates to different parts of our great state. Perfect for young artists, classrooms, and animal lovers of all ages.
From Erik’s early sketches to Linda’s published memoirs, these books celebrate a lifetime of Alaskan art and family perseverance.
Erik’s Story Finding his gifts Against all odds in rural Alaska is the true story of young Erik David Behnke, born with Down’s Syndrome, autism and at one time---no future. His single mother, Linda Kay Thompson, takes a job in rural Kenny Lake, Alaska, as a special education teacher, determined to free the light she glimpses within her child. Where everyone struggles to survive in a frigid land, Linda finds more than a loving community: she discovers her oldest son is an artistic savant. Thrilled beyond her greatest hopes, she works tirelessly, helping him develop as a professional artist, which she knows absolutely nothing about, before he graduates from high school. Erik has three professional shows in Alaska his first year, which lead to his art being shown and sold around the world. Erik’s Story is a triumph of survival, the faith of a family, and the grace that is love.
NOTE—
Linda won a First Place Writers Award with the Alaska Women’s Press Club for the book Erik’s Story in 2008.
The same year, she also won an Honorable Mention with the National Federation of Press Women Communications Contest under the category of Nonfiction, Religious or Inspirational Book.
An Alaska Story of Special Olympians Uniting to Survive
Let Us Be Brave is as an exciting fictional story well worth reading. A dramatic bush plane crash in south central coastal Alaska leaves the pilot injured. The passengers, a team of Special Olympic Athletes, must fend for themselves to survive. An Alaska storm first threatens to overwhelm them during the night as they care for their unconscious pilot. Each must confront the challenges of survival in the wilderness, while transcending their limitations. Forced to overcome their habits of dependency and help each other, the group finds courage in the Olympic oath: “Let me win, but if I cannot win, let me be brave in the attempt.”
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About the author-
Linda Kay Thompson is an author, manager of Brown Bear Products, and retired special education teacher in intensive-needs. Her teaching career, mother of a special needs son, and Alaska Special Olympics volunteer for 18 years helped her to see beyond the labels and limitations commonly associated with “disabilities.” Everyone has a gift or purpose of some sort and that’s what she is always looking for in people. Linda is an advocate for these adults and children who each carry unique gifts. Her life has been blessed by her son, Erik David Behnke, a professional artist with Down Syndrome and autism. The two have been active in the art world since 1997, when Linda began to unravel Erik’s talent in a rural classroom in Kenny Lake, Alaska. She obtained her Master’s degree in Special Education to better understand her children at home, school and in the community.
Linda started her writing career by researching and developing historical reports for a history professor at University of Alaska, Fairbanks, and went on to develop historical reports for publication as a federal and state researcher before becoming a secondary physical education teacher, elementary classroom teacher, elementary physical education teacher and finally a K-12 special education teacher. After retirement as a teacher she owned and operated Brown Bear Products Gallery in Homer and works to this day for BBP and as a Direct Service Provider with people with disabilities.