Fuzz Ball in a Top Hat

Tots to Teens
By DAPHNE LEE

IT’S easy to understand why bears are so popular with children (and many adults). They are attractively rotund, cuddly (looking) creatures which children readily identify with through that favourite of toys, the teddy bear. There are plenty of bears in children's lit. Pooh is arguably the most famous of them all, thanks, in part, to Disney. But my favourite literary bear is Little Bear.

He is the creation of Else Holmelund Minarik, although my impression of him is largely formed by the illustrations, done by my favourite illustrator of all time, Maurice Sendak!

(By the way, Sendak turned 80 on June 10!)

I was introduced to Little Bear through the television series, which was shown on the Nickelodeon channel a few years ago. I watch quite a bit of children’s telly and not just because I have three children! I like the quirkier series, the characters who are a little off-centre – like the untalkative bunny and Ellie from Pocoyo. And I really dislike the more obnoxious and disgusting programmes like Ed, Edd and Eddy. I’m afraid I’ve never been into booger-eating.

Little Bear does not eat boogers. He’s not a pious prig though. He gets into jams and scraps, and he can be petulant and disobedient, but at least he’s not gross. Of course, children these days seem to be very taken with grossness – as evinced by the popularity of books like Andy Griffith’s Bummegeddon and The Day My Bum Went Psycho.

But if your child is ever in need of some molly-coddling, I recommend a dose of Little Bear. The books are good for bedtime and the sick room as they tell mostly quiet, gentle stories of the bear cub and his friends and family. There are some funny tales, some magical ones, and some sweet, touching ones, but nothing distressing, sad or scary.

My favourite Little Bear tale is called A Kiss for Little Bear (published a year after I was born – cor blimey!). It starts with the grizzly cub drawing a picture that looks like it’s inspired by one of the monsters in Maurice Sendak’s Where the Wild Things Are (how post-modern of Sendak!). The picture makes Little Bear happy and he decides to give it to his grandmother. He sends Hen (one of his friends) on the errand and his grandmother sends a kiss in return. This is where the fun starts! Hen stops for a chat and passes the kiss to Frog. Then Frog spots a pond and goes for a swim, and passes the kiss to Cat. Cat feels sleepy and decides to snooze so he passes the kiss to Little Skunk. Little Skunk, on the way to deliver the kiss to Little Bear, meets a pretty little skunk and decides to pass the kiss to her. She gives it back and there’s a bit of back and forth before Hen comes along and sternly declares that there is “Too much kissing.” She takes the kiss back and delivers it safely to Little Bear. The story ends with the skunks’ marriage. Everyone is invited and Little Skunk looks very dapper in a top hat. Little Bear’s gift to the newly weds is a picture of the pair kissing. The last page shows Little Skunk looking on, with a frown, as Little Bear gives the bride a huge smack on the lips!

In this book, the final in the series, Little Bear looks rather stout, his fur thicker, his face fuller, and his expression quite rogueish. He is a very handsome young bear. I wonder what sort of adult grizzly he would make. He’s 51 this year! Alas, grizzlies have a life expectancy of only 30 years, but Little Bear will live forever as a young cub in Minarik’s books and in the shape that Sendak gave him.

The original Little Bear series comprises Little Bear (1957), Father Bear Comes Home (1959), Little Bear’s Friend (1960), Little Bear’s Visit (1961) and A Kiss for Little Bear (1968). They are all still in print and available at bookshops with a good selection of children’s books.

Next week: Pooh!

Comments

[MccrayTabitha32]

Different people in every country receive the home loans from different creditors, because it is comfortable.

[Daphne]

Spaulding and Teddy: Thanks for your comment. What an honour it is to have bears reading this blog ;-) And yes, I know what you mean by reading preventing regular blog posts!

Mlle Monster: Have you seen Shephard's illustrations in Eleanor Farjeon's The Glass Slipper? One of my favourite illustrated books!

[Mlle Monster]

I think as much as the stories, the illustrations also add magic. For most, pooh bear is a tubby little cubby with a red tee, Disney's version, but i have a particular fondness for EH Shephard's line drawings that accompanied the original series. Although he did resent them a little in the later years as they overshadowed this other works.

In the original series, the ending is so beautiful and sad, with Pooh's devotion to Christopher Robbin, I still get a little misty eyed when i read the last book. A beautiful ending of growing up and innocence lost.

I look forward to your coming Pooh review.

[Spaulding T. and Teddy T. Bear]

You certainly have good taste in books! Little Bear is our Mommy's age, so we are so amazed he is still fairly little (or we're amazed Mommy has never been little. We're not sure which, really! Kehehehehehe)

And you like Paddington and Pooh! You really are quite the kon-no-sor for books! Since you're going along our favorite topic (we're teddies, too), we'd like to remind you of Corduroy Bear, Mr. Bear and Little Bear in The Lonely Doll books, and the list keeps going!

Like your site! We are avid readers -- probably the reason our blog is so behind. Kehehehehe