FREEPORT – Tim Johnson, who moved to Freeport with his family last February, recently authored an illustrated, dual-language book for children.

Johnson is a Renaissance man of sorts, a mechanical engineer, by trade, a martial arts expert and a children’s fiction author.

Johnson’s new book, “Bosley Builds a Tree House,” is a dual-language book designed to teach a foreign language to English-speaking kids, according to a press release. The book is available in a number of languages, including French, German, Portuguese and Chinese, which are paired with English.

The book is the fourth in Johnson’s series, “The Adventures of Bosley Bear.” The series is designed to be a language-learning tool for small children.

Recently, Johnson answered a few questions about his latest book, and his career.

Q: What is the story of your move to Maine?

A: My wife and I both grew up in Maine, and after college we slowly made our way back to the great Vacationland. I attended Northeastern University in Boston for a degree in mechanical engineering and have been working for a product design-consulting firm in Beverly, Mass., for the past 10 years.

I have been involved with some very interesting design projects such as the Rock Band video game, a military reconnaissance robot and the Segway Human Transporter (Segway scooter). We moved to Freeport in February of 2013, one week before the birth of our twin boys.

Q: Mechanical engineering and writing might at first blush seem like strange bedfellows. How did this all come about?

A: The more science I’ve done throughout my career, the more I realize that art and creativity are essential in order to create an outstanding product. I believe it’s critical to exercise all aspects of the brain, and I’ve found that writing children’s books is a lot of fun and allows me a great outlet to express and exercise that part of the brain. I’ve also studied martial arts my entire life, which provides another example of this concept of blending art and science and is something that helped me realize its importance. In martial arts you have to understand physics and anatomy to a good degree, but you also need to be able to react creatively and appropriately to many situations.

Q: What do you like about writing books geared for children?

A: Children have, for a long time, been a great inspiration to me. Their ability to learn fascinates me and their open-mindedness excites me. Being able to provide books that serve as entertainment as well as learning tools has been extremely rewarding. Seeing children get excited about the characters and stories that came from my imagination, and knowing that these things will shape their upbringing, if only very slightly, is profoundly motivating.

Q: How did you arrive at the bilingual concept?

A: Being raised in a household where I was able to learn a little bit of French piqued my curiosity in foreign language, and it is still something I enjoy, having spent time learning French, Portuguese, Chinese and Japanese. During high school I participated in an exchange program and visited Tokyo for five weeks.

I went to a bookstore while there and picked up a children’s book to help me learn and practice the language. It was so helpful that I knew others would be able to benefit from a similar concept.

The books I publish, in addition to being written in two languages side-by-side, also offer other features that are intended to help children learn while enjoying a fun, wholesome bedtime story. (The learning features include) repeat words, opposites, highlighted words in both languages, line-by-line translations and labeled illustrations.

Q: What are your book titles, and where are they available?

A: Currently there are four titles, “Bosley Sees the World,” “Bosley Goes to the Beach,” “Bosley’s First Words” and “Bosley Builds a Tree House.” The books are available on Amazon.com, through my website, www.theLanguageBear.com, and the first two titles are available at Sherman’s Bookstore in all four locations. There is also a boxed set including all four published titles available through the website and on Amazon.

Q: Tell me a little bit about Bosley Bear. How do his experiences help children?

A: In addition to language learning, each book (save for “Bosley’s First Words,” which is intended for a younger audience) includes a particular moral or wholesome lesson. In “Bosley Sees the World,” Bosley Bear experiences the great outdoors for the first time and realizes how many wonderful things there are to explore, and how big the world really is.

“Bosley Goes to the Beach” teaches children to appreciate their own unique capabilities as Bosley meets three other animals with interesting capabilities and then learns to appreciate his own. In the most recent book, “Bosley Builds a Tree House,” released in November, Bosley works with his friends to design and build a great tree house. The book encourages themes of teamwork, friendship and accomplishment.”

Tim Johnson of Freeport has recently published a new book in his series, “The Adventures of Bosley Bear.” The series is designed to be a language-learning tool for small children.