From School Library Journal
PreSchool-Grade 3-In this zany sequel to the Pinkwaters'
Irving and Muktuk: Two Bad Bears(Houghton, 2001), the incorrigible, muffin-loving polar bears are sent to a zoo in Bayonne, NJ, along with a letter stating that they are not to be trusted. Craving their favorite food, they make plans to break into the muffin factory next door. Using their pillows and blankets to make an ingenious disguise, they sneak into the building with a school tour group. When they are discovered, they run and hide in the freezer section of a local supermarket. Roy, a better-behaved polar bear, finds them and returns them to the zoo. This book mentions but does not explain the pair's muffin-stealing past and will make the most sense to readers who are familiar with its predecessor. The lighthearted cartoons reflect the mood of the humorous text. The pure white bears drawn with thin, free black outlines contrast with the backgrounds, which are often illustrated with bright complementary colors. Pinkwater's many fans will enjoy the further adventures of these mischievous creatures.
-Donna Cardon, Provo City Library, UT Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
From Booklist
K-Gr. 3. Irving and Muktuk, the nefarious polar bears last seen in
Two Bad Bears (2001), have been sent to a zoo in Bayonne, New Jersey, as punishment for transgressions in their Alaskan town. At the zoo, they meet the resident polar bear, Roy, who has his own apartment and clocks out of the zoo every night after it closes. Since they aren't to be trusted, Irving and Muktuk have to stay in their apartment in the zoo, but they soon grow bored and escape, disguised as rakishly capped figures. Their objective is the nearby muffin factory (muffins are a passion), but they are discovered and forced back to the zoo. It is unlikely, however, given the looks on their faces on the final page, that they are on the way to muffin rehabilitation. The droll, understated text and Jill Pinkwater's simple, expressive, marker-and-ink illustrations perfectly capture the cheekiness of this story of bears gone bad and proud of it.
Todd MorningCopyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved
