Bad Bears and a Bunny: An Irving and Muktuk Story [Hardcover]

PreSchool-Grade 2–In this third tale about the muffin-stealing polar bears who live at the zoo in Bayonne, NJ, Irving and Muktuk tease a bunny: "Hey, bunny-boy!...You…eat...grass! Grass-eater! Grass-eater! Yah, yah, yah!" In return, they are kicked and bitten and come to fear the little creature, so when they attend a party where he is also a guest, they find it hard to exhibit their usual mischievous behavior. The author's droll sense of humor makes this book a winner. The marker-and-ink illustrations work well with the story, with the stark white, humanlike bears taking center stage on most spreads. This book should find an audience in most libraries, particularly where Irving and Muktuk are popular.–Kelley Rae Unger, Peabody Institute, MA

K-Gr. 2. Irving and Muktuk, the bad polar bears of two previous books, find themselves cowed by a bunny in this brisk tale. Roy, a good bear, lives in an apartment near the zoo. He invites Irving and Muktuk to a party after they agree to behave, although as they note, "We're not to be trusted." Roy is willing to take a chance, but having warned him, Irving and Muktuk feel they have carte blanche to do their worst. Also at the party is a bunny that readers have met a few pages earlier when he was doing his best to terrorize the bad bears. They spend the party trying to avoid the rabbit, and, for once, the duo is under control. A foreshortened, one-joke story doesn't always a book make, but this has the advantage of Daniel Pinkwater's droll, understated text and Jill Pinkwater's giggleworthy artwork in felt-tip marker and ink. The focus is always on those two white bears, and sometimes there's not much going on in the pictures, but a pop of excitement comes from the bears' own relationship. Ilene Cooper
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Irving and Muktuk are polar bears in the Bayonne, New Jersey, zoo. They wish they had privileges like their polar bear friend Roy, who goes home every night at six o'clock. But they are known as bad bears. The Zoo Director thinks Irving and Muktuk are not to be trusted. One morning a small white bunny shows up, eating grass at the edge of the polar bear enclosure. Irving and Muktuk aren't sure what to make of it. They don't know how to behave. They make the bunny mad. Trouble is brewing at the zoo. When their friend Roy invites them to a party at a fancy hotel, Irving and Muktuk are asked to behave themselves. They assure Roy that they can be trusted. But trust doesn't come easily, and when the bears arrive at the party, they are soon put to the test.

Jill and Daniel Pinkwater have collaborated on numerous popular books for children. Daniel Pinkwater is a well-known commentator on National Public Radio and hosts his own radio program, Chinwag Theater. The Pinkwaters live in the Hudson Valley of New York with several dogs and cats in a very old farmhouse.

Jill and Daniel Pinkwater have collaborated on numerous popular books for children. Daniel Pinkwater is a well-known commentator on National Public Radio and hosts his own radio program, Chinwag Theater. The Pinkwaters live in the Hudson Valley of New York.