Customer Reviews

The Bear That Wasn't (Dover Children's Thrift Classics)

5 star:		(15)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

After almost half a century, I have come to realize that this book, the first one I read all by myself, has had a profound influence on my world view. I can still remember a number of the wonderful illustrations.

A book that teaches the importance of knowing who you are and the fact that others may think they know you but really don't. It shows the importance of the sense of self, an important lesson for young people. It does this without preaching, with good humor and illustrations that have many objects for children, and adults, to discover. The illustrations in this reprint are unfortunatly slightly cropped from the original book with some loss of content.

This book has been a personal favorite ever since I can remember. I make sure to read it to any child that visits my house. My affinity to the material and the subtile presentation of the importance of being an individual was a clear indication of my political orientation from a very early age. I'm so glad that I can now get copies for the next generation to take home and cherish.

This book has been a great favorite in my family since my parents received a copy in the late 1940's. I am delighted that it has finally been reprinted! However, I am disappointed that the binding in this edition cuts off part of some of the wonderful illustrations, especially those of the offices of the factory bosses, which take up two pages. In the Third Vice President's office the foreman is almost completely buried in the binding, as is the Third Vice President in both the Second Vice President's and the First Vice President's offices. Otherwise, I am very happy with this book!

Frank Tashlin's 1946 masterpiece is a witty parable of modern times embedded in superbly executed drawings of satirical whimsy at once pungent and sweetly evocative. Inexplicably out of print for decades, this gem of a book is handsomely reprinted by NYRB in an edition that surpasses the original in manufacture. If your children (or grandchildren) of about seven or above are lucky, you will share this terrific book with them often for the grand experience great books provide. And pretty soon, someone in the family will chuckle at a peculiar event, and say with a smile, "He's not a bear, he's a silly man who needs a shave and wears a fur coat!" And you will reply with a broader smile, "But I AM a bear!" Because you are not a silly person who didn't buy this book RIGHT NOW!

This book and "The Giving Tree" are the 2 best books ever written. My father read "The Bear" to me when I was young, and when I was in high school he found a copy that he gave to me and inscribed, "Read this often to remind you that who you are is who you are, and that's not bad." 20 years later, I still do.

One of my all-time favorites. Right up there with "Ferdinand, The Bull", as cutting the crap about childhood. For, however much they tried to brainwash the bear, he comes to accept that he was a bear, after all, no matter what the world tried to tell him. I regret that, by reducing the format, Dover has lessened the impact of the illustrations; which kept me enthralled for hours. They are immensely detailed. Also, one wonders if this was not something of an allegory for sophisticates, as Frank Tashlin was a sophisticated Hollywood writer of great note.

This was the first book that I remember reading with "bigger words" 65 years ago. While filming a documentary on the Island of Yap in the Federated States of Micronesia (then the United States Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands), I suddenly realized that the "20th Century" was trying to impose its lifestyle upon these gentle people. The grass skirts for the women were giving way to the use of bras in the district center. This book is as deep as any ocean!

This is an amazing book that will teach your children to have confidence in themselves... and make them laugh at the same time. It also has an underlying message stressing the importance of our environment. I truly believe that every child should have this book.

There's a deeper message in this children's book with quirky little drawings.

A message about how society is always demanding conformity, and about all the pressures we have put upon us to measure up and fit into the mold of what society thinks we should be.

"This above all: to thine own self be true," has never been more profound.

I believe the message is that we are all unique and valuable creatures, and once we stop living up to other people's expectations, we can truly begin to live.

This is a really cute book that makes you think- not just for kids, but for adults as well. :)