Young Larry (Pbk) [Paperback]

Daniel Manus Pinkwater (Author), Jill Pinkwater (Illustrator)

Book Description

Age Level: 4 and up

Young Larry is a Marshall Cavendish publication.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

PreSchool-Grade 3. The eccentric brilliance of the Pinkwaters shines brightly in this pair of books featuring Larry the polar bear. Young Larry and his brother Roy are a couple of regular cubs, with an absent father of whom they are nonetheless proud ("He found a dead whale one time, and ate the whole thing himself") and a typical polar bear mother ("One day, I will give you a hit in the head myself...and send you off to take care of yourselves"). When that day finally comes, Larry discovers that being a grown-up bear is downright boring. He curls up on the ice for a nap in Baffin Bay and wakes up in Bayonne, New Jersey. His taste for muffins leads him to a job as a lifeguard, and his rescue of a Mr. Martin Frobisher leads him to the sequel, At the Hotel Larry. There he resumes his lifeguarding career and is reunited with Roy during a visit to the zoo. Pinkwater's deadpan delivery deftly mixes these outrageous events with wry observations ("I am a wild polar bear myself....There is no other kind"), while remaining true to the animals' nature and raising this droll humor to hilarity. Pen-and-ink and marker illustrations in vivid tones extend Larry's character through expression, posture, and pose. Details such as the claw-based furniture of the Hotel Larry add visual dimension to the humor. At once both simple and sophisticated, these books have a fabulously quirky, memorable character whose exploits bear repeated readings.?Starr LaTronica, Four County Library System, Vestal, NY
Copyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Kirkus Reviews

The Pinkwaters (Wallpaper from Space, 1996, etc.) combine facts and hilarious fancy, enriched by the author's knack for turning a phrase. Larry and Roy are polar bear cubs with a father of some renown: He once ate a whale. They keep their distance from him; their mother informs them that their father would probably ``give you a hit in the head, and tell you to get lost.'' She also mentions that she will be doing the same one day. ``Wow. That is harsh,'' note the boys. The day arrives when she tells them to ``go and fend for yourselves,'' and one boy asks the other, ``So, do you think we know how to fend?'' The author's humor and pacing, dialogue, and storytelling all shine as the story goes south--Larry floats on some ice to New Jersey, where he becomes a lifeguard in order to earn money for muffins he remembers fondly from a tourist ship he once saw. The illustrator's arctic landscapes are unusual and pleasing, and though her animals are barely sketched, they convey the bulk of the bears as well as their human-like postures and their playfulness. (Picture book. 3-6) -- Copyright ©1997, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 4 and up
  
• Paperback: 32 pages
• Publisher: Marshall Cavendish Childrens Books (April 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0761451773
• ISBN-13: 978-0761451778
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 8.7 x 0.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,595,371 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

23 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Phrases from this book have entered our lexicon, December 30, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Young Larry (Library Binding)

Daniel Pinkwater writes charming and understated books for children,and somehow manages to portray the the fantasies realistically as a result. He admits to children the scary aspects of polar bears- they eat stinky food, they're really big, their mothers (and fathers) treat the cubs harshly, but Larry ends up as a likable character anyway. Anyone who asks his brother "so, do you think we can fend?" has a pretty good sense of himself. When Larry arrives in New Jersey (!) he quickly learns from "A Human" what it takes to get what he wants in this new and exciting culture. He settles down to do what needs to be done- earn money to buy muffins. No one seems to think twice about his outer bearsona for some time. Somehow, Daniel Pinkwater pulls that off, and my daughters have never questioned it.

This wasn't the first "Larry" book we owned, but I think it is the most charming of them. They all do have their charms and phrases that stay with you, and my daughters like them all. This would be a good gift for a book loving child because they are not too likely to already own it; it isn't one of the books you can find everywhere, but it's worth looking for.

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars From Baffin to Bayonne: The Birth of the Cool, August 3, 2004

By 

M. Allen Greenbaum (California) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)    (HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Young Larry (Library Binding)

The first in the "Larry" series, this book introduces us to Larry the polar bear and his brother Roy, and tells how he accidentally floated from Baffin Bay to Bayonne, New Jersey. Working as a lifeguard (where), he saves

The dialogue is as dryly humorous as always with Pinkwater:

"One day, I will give you a hit in the head myself," their mother said. "And send you off to take care of yourselves." "Wow, That is harsh," Larry and Roy said. "It is Nature's way," Larry and Roy's mother said. "Well, I don't like it," Larry said. "Nobody is asking you to like it. You are bears. Get used to it."

The bears are eventually left to fend for themselves. Larry discovers the joy of blueberry muffins when humans on a passing boat throw them to the bears. After drifting to Bayonne, New Jersey, Larry works as a lifeguard (it takes a while for people to catch onto the fact that he is a bear) to earn money for more blueberry muffins. He saves Mr. Frobisher, a wealthy man who buys a hotel so that Larry may continue to lifeguard and earn muffins.

This book is not as clever as the two "Larry" books that follow ("At the Hotel Larry" and "Bongo Larry"), but does introduce the bears and the origin of the Larry's blueberry muffin craze. There's too much narrative and not enough of Pinkwater's celebrated wit. Still, completists will want the entire Larry story, and Jill Pinkwater's illustrations are cheery and bright. One can easily read the other two books without having read "Young Larry." However, you might be puzzled by the whole blueberry muffin thing. Having read this review, however, you are now in the know.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent book!, December 15, 2007

By 

Jessica Daniels (Sylmar, CA United States) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Young Larry (Pbk) (Paperback)

I bought this book along with "Hotel Larry" and "Ice Cream Larry" for my young nephew for Christmas. I had to read the books as soon as they arrived.

"Young Larry" was my favorite of the three books. I had been a little worried after reading a review that said the book sent a bad message to our kids. But after I read the book, laughing out loud along the way, I felt reassured. I think the book sends an honest, realistic message to our children. Life isn't always fair or nice, but you have to take what comes and learn to cope.

Larry is a very enterprising bear, and takes good care of himself. Children will be very pleased with this happy story.