Bears

Trust Maurice Sendak to remain mischievous well into his old age. When somebody somewhere proposed that he reillustrate Ruth Krauss's classic and bizarre 1948 title, "Bears", he could have done so without so much as a whimper. Instead, right on the title page, one of the first things you see is a bear hanging by a noose. BANG! Parents who are going to be shocked are shocked and parents who are pretty well aware that kids don't detect any difference between nooses and plain old ropes are nonplussed. The wheat has been separated from the chaff from the very beginning and by the time you've gotten to page 3 you know that you are deep into Sendak's brain without any turning back. "Bears" wasn't without controversy when it first came out, of course. In his book, "Dear Genius"* author Leonard S. Marcus points out that, "Some critics found this picture book, with its nonnarrative, singsong text...bewilderingly offbeat and insubstantial". Now Sendak's given it a narrative and it stars one of his best-known creations. Bizarre, funny, and overwhelmingly bearable (ho ho), the book is sure to be beloved by some and abhorred by others. It's Max! The hero from "Where the Wild Things Are", is back and he's going to bed. Only thing is, as he goes to retire with his faithful dog at his side he sees that somebody (the grinning pup seems a likely culprit) has hung Max's favorite teddy from the ceiling. Max rescues his toy and is just snuggling down to sleep with it (as a jealous man's-best-friend looks on) when the dog finds he cannot take it anymore and runs off with Max's stuffed bear. What ensues is a chase as Max pursues his dog, stumbling all the while past odd bear-related scenes and images. He runs past them "On the stairs", and "Under chairs". With each two-page spread, Max tries to get closer to his dog and stuffed bear, all the while avoiding the very real bears that trundle around them. By the end, Max has successfully snatched back his stuffed animal but who gets to snuggle up to him in the bed? One very happy puppy. The book has received numerous accolades with this new production. The New York Public Library, for example, decided that it deserved to be added to The Anne Carroll Moore Collection (the closest thing that library system has to a best book of the year award). The book itself is an interesting look at later Sendak. He's grown far more comfortable with a cartoonish style in his old age. There are plenty of speech bubbles and exclamations popping up all throughout the text. I know that Sendak has always been a great fan of "Little Nemo" so maybe this is his unofficial tribute to the great man (aside from the more obvious tribute, "In the Night Kitchen"). The illustrations to "Bears" are also a little sloppy but are by no means poorly done. Some artists (like William Steig, for example) come into an entirely new style as they age. Here Sendak employs thick black lines and broad details. His bears are sometimes (of

I have been looking for this book to get for my boys! This was one of my favorite books when I was little! I loved the rhyming of it! So glad I found it so I can share it with my boys!

Max from Where the Wild things are is back! His imagination is a wild as ever! This time he is having grand adventures with BEARS!!! The bears are everywhere! Under chairs, on stairs, collecting bus fairs and so much more! What did you like or not like about the book? The book only had 27 words. Perfect book for toddlers to listen to! Would you recommend the book? Why or Why not? Yes we would. On each page the bears are doing a different activity. Always something neat to look at while the book is being read aloud.

This is a great book that my two-year old loves. Simple rhymes, lots of bears to look at and fun to read aloud. Definitely recommended.