Two Bad Bears

This whole series has become my son's favorite...the bears who "are not to be trusted" and are "no better than they should be" are a pleasure to read. The illustrations add to the humor. Witty and highly recommended- especially for a clever boy who likes just the right amount of mischief.

This book is *very* funny! I enjoy it every time I read it to my grandchildren. It would be pretty hard to disguise a nine-foot-tall polar bear, but they try some outrageous costumes to enable them to satisfy their insatiable appetite for blueberry muffins. It's my favorite children's book.

Something about New England apparently attracts writers to bears. Notably, there is John Updike, who managed to place bears in "The Hotel New Hampshire," and other books, and there's the Pinkwater (Dan and Jill), who have given us such masterworks as "Young Larry," "Bongo Larry," and "At the Hotel Larry." Now the Pinkwaters give us Irving and Mukluk, two polar bears unrelated to Larry and his brother Roy, but just as irresistible in their own way. Their way, by the way, is larceny, and they pursue one object only-the abundant muffins of Yellowtooth ("in the frozen north"), baked by the Yellowtoothians whenever there's a celebration. The people of Yellowtooth, according to Daniel Pinkwater, are raucous folks, partying all night, drinking root beer, and gambling! "They are a hard lot," comments Pinkwater in his signature wry humor, "but they have a soft spot in their hearts for blueberry muffins." The celebrations happen once a year, and every year, Irving and Muktuk concoct the absolute worst disguises ever worn in an effort to capture this booty. The book is a series of similarly formulated gags. Irving and Muktuk cloak themselves in obviously fake disguises (although their knowing smiles hint that they think they are just too clever for Yellowtooth). They masquerade as "two orphan penguins" (complete with visibly tied-on, capes, masks, and stockings), "two adorable Girl Scouts" (who, strangely, insist on a muffin payment for their Girl Scout cookies), and as "two famous chefs from Bayonne, New Jersey" (the reported center of muffin making and appreciation) arriving to judge a Yellowtooth muffin baking contest. Unfortunately for the scheming polar bears, they have a formidable opponent in the straight-laced, stolid Officer Bunny-a Mountie -like critter with a keen and logical mind. Officer Bunny who maintains law and order in Yellowtooth, he invariably sees through the awful disguises and sends the over-confident bears away by helicopter: "FWOP! FWOP! FWOP! Oh my! It is the helicopter! FWOP! FWOP! FWOP!" "Once again, you have failed to obtain muffins by stealth and subterfuge." Western civilization is safe again. The bears' last disguise is their best: They curl up and try to pass "as blueberry muffins-extremely large, hairy muffins." However, Officer Bunny detects Muktuk drooling. Luckily, a zookeeper in, of all places, Bayonne, New Jersey offers to keep the bears. Even more luckily, the zoo is immediately adjacent to a giant muffin factory, operating 24 hours a day. Although the last picture of the airborne, handcuffed bears is a trifle disturbing, there is almost no doubt that they are already plotting their first raid on the muffin manufacturing plant. The book is more structured and episodic than those in the freewheeling, more character-driven "Larry" series. Young toddlers may enjoy the repeated motif of disguise-recognition-capture-reappearance, and the disguises are humorously transparent. Slightly older kids may be somewhat

Something about New England apparently attracts writers to bears. Notably, there is John Irving, who managed to place bears in "The Hotel New Hampshire," and other books, and there's the Pinkwater (Dan and Jill), who have givwritten such masterpieces as "Young Larry," "Bongo Larry," and "At the Hotel Larry." Now the Pinkwaters give us Irving and Mukluk, two polar bears unrelated to Larry and his brother Roy, but just as irresistible in their own way. Their way, by the way, is larceny, and they pursue one object only-the abundant muffins of Yellowtooth ("in the frozen north"), baked by the Yellowtoothians whenever there's a celebration. The people of Yellowtooth, according to Daniel Pinkwater, are raucous folks, partying all night, drinking root beer, and gambling! "They are a hard lot," comments Pinkwater in his signature wry humor, "but they have a soft spot in their hearts for blueberry muffins." The celebrations happen once a year, and every year, Irving and Muktuk concoct the absolute worst disguises ever worn in an effort to capture this booty. The book is a series of similarly formulated gags. Irving and Muktuk cloak themselves in obviously fake disguises (although their knowing smiles hint that they think they are just too clever for Yellowtooth). They masquerade as "two orphan penguins" (complete with visibly tied-on, capes, masks, and stockings), "two adorable Girl Scouts" (who, strangely, insist on a muffin payment for their Girl Scout cookies), and as "two famous chefs from Bayonne, New Jersey" (the reported center of muffin making and appreciation) arriving to judge a Yellowtooth muffin baking contest. Unfortunately for the scheming polar bears, they have a formidable opponent in the straight-laced, stolid Officer Bunny-a Mountie -like critter with a keen and logical mind. Officer Bunny who maintains law and order in Yellowtooth, he invariably sees through the awful disguises and sends the over-confident bears away by helicopter: "FWOP! FWOP! FWOP! Oh my! It is the helicopter! FWOP! FWOP! FWOP!" "Once again, you have failed to obtain muffins by stealth and subterfuge." Western civilization is safe again. The bears' last disguise is their best: They curl up and try to pass "as blueberry muffins-extremely large, hairy muffins." However, Officer Bunny detects Muktuk drooling. Luckily, a zookeeper in, of all places, Bayonne, New Jersey offers to keep the bears. Even more luckily, the zoo is immediately adjacent to a giant muffin factory, operating 24 hours a day. Although the last picture of the airborne, handcuffed bears is a trifle disturbing, there is almost no doubt that they are already plotting their first raid on the muffin manufacturing plant. The book is more structured and episodic than those in the freewheeling, more character-driven "Larry" series. Young toddlers may enjoy the repeated motif of disguise-recognition-capture-reappearance, and the disguises are humorously transparent. Slightly older kids may be somew

It's got polar bears posing as penguins. It's got polar bears posing as girl scouts. The primary law enforcement officer is a bunny. The setting is a town called Yellowtooth.Welcome to the twisted and hilarious world of Daniel Pinkwater. Irving and Muktuk are polar bears who want to steal muffins. In jerky and often funny prose, Pinkwater describes their repeated near-exploits. Always foiled by the bunny (who even utilizes a helicopter and a net to capture the villains), Irving and Muktuk never flag in their optimism or their enthusiasm for thievery. In the end, the ursine ladrónes are shipped off to Bayonne, New Jersey (The Muffin Capitol of the World, in case you failed to notice).This is Pinkwater at his near-best (I still prefer the novel LIZARD MUSIC), so put your hands on a copy of IRVING AND MUKTUK today. You'll laugh until your ribs ache.