Bad Bears go Visiting (Irving & Muktuk Story) [Hardcover]

Daniel Pinkwater (Author), Jill Pinkwater (Illustrator)

Book Description

Age Level: 5 and up | Grade Level: K and up | Series: Irving & Muktuk Story

Irving and Muktuk are cheating each other at cards when their polar bear friend Larry drops by for a visit. The bears eat cake topped with little fishes that Larry has brought, play a spirited game of volleyball, and afterward chat pleasantly until Larry goes home. “Visits,” Irving and Muktuk decide, “are nice.”

The next evening, when all is quiet at the zoo, the Bad Bears sneak out to pay a refined visit of their own. When they arrive at the home of the Beachball family, things—as usual for the baffled bruins—get out of hand.

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

Two wild and crazy polar bears, Irving and Muktuk, are back in their fourth adventure. They're cheating at cards when their friend Larry arrives for a visit carrying a fish-decorated cake. They play volleyball, chat, and agree that visits are nice. The next evening, the bears escape from the zoo so that they, too, can pay a visit. They pick out a nice house but lack a present. No problem--they pull up a bush from out front and present it to the Beachball family. After an inside volleyball game wreaks havoc, daughter Sylvia calls the police, who cart Irving and Muktuk back to the zoo, where they conclude that it's nice to have a visit and it's nice to make a visit. The Pinkwaters' droll humor continues to mark the adventures of these lovable, silly bears. Felt-tip-and-ink illustrations outline the white bears with squiggly lines against colorful backgrounds. Bad but funny. Julie Cummins
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Review

"..a refreshing antidote to the pervasive sweetness of so much of children's literature." Horn Book

The Pinkwaters bring a cockamamie sense of humor, deadpan text and lovely pools of ribbon-candy color to the bears' shenanigans, and there is little danger, considering what doofuses Irving and Muktuk are, that they will inspire any bad-bear behavior in readers.
Kirkus Reviews

The Pinkwaters' droll humor continues to mark the adventures of these lovable, silly bears.
Booklist, ALA

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 5 and up
  
• Hardcover: 32 pages
• Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Books for Children; None edition (April 9, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0618431268
• ISBN-13: 978-0618431267
• Product Dimensions: 10 x 8.6 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,199,047 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Daniel Pinkwater lives with his wife, the illustrator and novelist Jill Pinkwater, and several dogs and cats in a very old farmhouse in New York's Hudson River Valley.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Three Silly Chicks Review, October 1, 2007

By 

Three Silly Chicks "www.ThreeSillyChicks.com" - See all my reviews

This review is from: Bad Bears go Visiting (Irving & Muktuk Story) (Hardcover)

Reviewed by Three Silly Chicks - Readers, Writers, and Reviewers of funny books for kids.


Irving and Muktuk are the kind of bad bears kids love to love. They cheat at cards, escape from the zoo, and generally make mischief every chance they get. When their friend Larry introduces them to the concept of "Visiting," these Bad Bears have to try it for themselves. They visit the Beachball family. Of course, they bring a present (the bush from the front lawn makes a lovely gift), snack on doughnuts with sardines, and play indoor volleyball until the zoo keeper and police arrive to take them back to the zoo. (Again.)

Irving and Muktuk are wry, playful, and silly. But best of all, they are sneaky. As Daniel Pinkwater writes, "Though polar bears are very large, they are among the best sneakers in the animal kingdom." Who knew? Jill Pinkwater! That's who! With the simplest of lines, she captures the mischievous heart of this daring duo and makes us want to join the fun! And there's plenty of fun to be had. BAD BEARS GO VISITING is fun, plain and simple.

5.0 out of 5 stars This is a scream, October 4, 2011

By 

M. Heiss (USA) - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Bad Bears go Visiting (Irving & Muktuk Story) (Hardcover)

What an unforgettable way to cement correct behavior for your child before they go visiting (at great-Grandma's house, for example.)

1)Arrive with a gift or present
2)Have fun without destroying things (or cheating)
3)Chat pleasantly
4)Go home

In addition to sneaking in the manners training, the book is an absolute hoot, and even my older kids go crazy for it. Don't miss it.

5.0 out of 5 stars Hilarious story of bad bear antics., June 10, 2007

By 

Midwest Book Review (Oregon, WI USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Bad Bears go Visiting (Irving & Muktuk Story) (Hardcover)

Daniel Pinkwater writes BAD BEARS GO VISITING, a story of one Irving and Muktuk, who are cheating each other at cards when polar friend Larry drops by to visit. But the Bad Bears can't resist getting into trouble when they sneak into the zoo to pay their own visit to friends in this hilarious story of bad bear antics.