Bears

Bears. by Ruth Krauss. illustrated by Maurice Sendak. 2005. 24p. New York: HarperCollins. 

Author Website: http://www.harpercollins.com/author/

Illustrator Website: http://www.harpercollins.com/authors/

Medium: pencil and gouache

Awards and Honors: none
 
Audience: 2 and up

Annotation:
Maurice Sendak re-illustrates Ruth Krauss's 1948 book, Bears, creating a strange madcap chase featuring a stolen teddy bear, a dog, and a familiar boy in a wolf suit.

Personal Reaction:
Ruth Krauss's 27 word rhyming story about bears gets an updated treatment with Maurice Sendak's new illustrations. His drawings breathe new life into the story, turning it into a madcap chase featuring a stolen teddy bear, a dog, and a familiar boy in a wolf suit. 

That boy would be Max- the hero from Sendak's classic, the Caldecott Award winning picture book Where the Wild Things Are. As Max is drifting off to sleep, teddy bear snuggled up against him in bed, Max's little dog jealously steals the teddy, leading Max on a wild chase. Max and the dog romp through panels of gigantic teddy bears, with the dog evading Max at each turn, until Max finally catches up with his dog and swipes the teddy (prompting the dog to cry).

When Max, the dog and the teddy make it back to the safety of Max's room, the reader sees that all has been set right again. The dog snuggles next to Max in bed, while the teddy bear sits close by on the nightstand. Yet in the window we see an angry looking bear peering in, and the moon has a scowling bear's face.


In true Sendak fashion, the illustrations on each spread range from fantastical to dark- on the title page, the teddy bear hangs from a noose, ostensibly placed there by the dog, while another spread shows the human sized teddy bears looking as if they are about to attack the trio. In the most impressive (and satirical) spread in the book, the life-sized teddy bears appear as millionaires- dressed tails and top hats, toasting champagne and smoking cigars. 

Fans of Sendak will no doubt enjoy this book, but some people will take issue with its dark undertones.