The Biggest Bear

A must read for each succeeding generation!

This book was first published 60 years ago, but classic literature is timeless. Each succeeding generation should have the opportunity to read such a wonderful family story. My nine year old grandson loved it, even though he is highly interested in modern stories of wizards as well as "wimpy kids."

good old fashioned kid's tales

I recall having this story read to me when I was a child many years ago and wishing for a bear of my own. I was happy to discover I could pass on my enjoyment of this book to my grandchildren, and we could read this tale together. There are fewer wild places, and the woods I once roamed are now subdivisions, condo's and parking lots, but I still remember my fascination with the young boy in this book and his Big bear, and it's nice to think that kids still look for bears, and that there are still places that a bear could grow this big, at least in the imagination of a child. There may not be as many bears, but there are plenty of books such as this one that can spark a child's interest in preserving habitiat for future bears.

Great Story

My son who is 5 years old, loved the story. The story about how you can keep huge bear.. Highly reccomended

My 3 year old son LOVES this story!!!

This story is so well written and the illustrations were great!!! My 3 year old loves the way the bear finds a home in the end.

Big Bear

This book was published in 1952, and won a Caldecott Award in 1953 for excellence in pictoral illustration. The black and white drawings are well done -- one well-drawn and realistic image shows a local man grinning with pride as he carries the lifeless carcass of a freshly-killed bear back to his barn to be skinned. Johnny is determined to find a bear the BIGGEST bear, and kill it. He plans to tack the skin on the barn so everyone can see it. But when he finds a baby bear, he cannot 'bear' to kill him. The bear grows and grows until he is the biggest bear ever seen on the face of earth! Too bad his size and natural instincts get him into a lot of trouble! This is a heart-warming tale about how a boy can save his beloved bear from getting killed. I think anyone who enjoys a GOOD book should read this! This book is for ages 4-8.

An Enduring Classic

I loved this book as a child and now my boys love it too. It's a story kids can really put themselves into and the illustrations are fantastic. I think my favorite thing about it is the bear's facial expressions. He always looks so pleased with himself, especially after he finds his way back to the house each time.

Kids Love it!!

My students have fallen in love with this book year after year. jThey are fascinated with the young boy who is determined to raise a bear only to find out it is a difficult thing to do. The details in the illustrations make for a lot of conversation and 'looking.' The maple sugar candy is always a treat for students whohave never hadthis type of candy before.

From Bear Hunter to Bear Protector

This book was awarded the Caldecott Medal as the best illustrated children's book of 1953. The Biggest Bear was illustrator Lynd Ward's first attempt to write and illustrate a children's book. You will fall in love with the rich detail and quality of the woodcuts of forest and farm scenes. The story itself will provide much food for thought about what growing up is all about. The book provides more of a context for hunting than is needed to tell the story, which is why I graded the book down one star. Johnny Orchard's barn never had a bearskin drying on it. His grandfather always said, 'Better a bear in the orchard than an Orchard in the bear.' Johnny felt humiliated by what he thought was a cowardly view. He swore to kill the biggest bear anyone had ever seen. 'If I ever see a bear, I'll shoot him so fast he won't know what hit him.' Johnny's chance to go hunting alone finally comes. He finds a bear cub. Rather than shoot the cub, he feeds the cub some maple sugar and carries the cub home. The cub turned out to just love being with people . . . and making messes. The bear drank the milk meant for the calves, ate the mash meant for the chickens, chomped down the apples in the orchard, scarfed the pancakes on Sunday morning that the famiy wanted to eat, tore up the kitchen looking for food, wallowed around in Mr. McCarroll's cornfield, consumed the bacons and hams in the Pennell's smokehouse, and emptied the McLeans' sap buckets before drinking their maple syrup. All the men came to talk with Johnny's father. The conclusion was that 'the bear would have to go back to the woods.' Johnny tried three times to lead the bear away (which by now was enormous from all the good eating), and each time the bear soon returned . . . even when stranded on an island in a lake. Johnny was told to solve the problem permanently, and heads sadly off into the woods with his gun and the bear. While there, the bear smells syrup and runs off. Both the bear and Johnny fall into a bear trap. A zoo is looking for a bear to exhibit. They gladly take the bear, release Johnny, and let Johnny know he can visit. Saved in the nick of time! The story will likely require some context for your child to understand it. People probably don't carry guns around in your neighborhood, and hunting may also be an infrequent occurrence. This book depicts a rural community where guns seem to be almost as common as pitchforks. The book doesn't seem to be particularly pro or con on hunting (just indicating that almost everyone does it), so you should express your views accordingly to fill in that space in the story's background. Notice that Johnny is actually pretty brave, independent of his reluctance to shoot. I suspect it takes more courage to carry off a bear cub than to shoot one. Who knows where the mother bear may be? You also can use this story to discuss the pros and cons of turning wild animals into pets. Clearly, that's a bad idea with bears, and many bears are destroyed each year after becoming too fond of getting their food from campers. I think the story has a potential asset in providing an opportunity for you and your child to discuss how else the bear problem might have been solved. You could even look up books about how bears have been successfully returned to the wild. The book has an unusually high ratio of illustrations to words. You can take advantage of this to help your child begin to appreciate the complexities that a longer story can bring. This book, as a result, is longer than most picture books for 4-8 year olds. As long as the hunting aspects of the story don't disturb your child, this book will be entertaining to children even younger than 4. There is a lot of humor in it about the people letting the bear run 'wild' in the human-dominated part of the world. After age 6, the story will start to pale for most youngsters. They will be ready for more complicated stories. If you have a daughter, this

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