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Bad Bears Go Visiting

 The two bad bears of the title have a friend--Larry--who explains the etiquette of "a visit." He says, "I have brought you a baked treat. We will eat it together and chat about our lives. Then I will go home."


Later--amazed at the world's possibilities--the bad bears realize that they themselves can *make* a visit. So they find the home of a group of strangers, the Beachball family. They do not have a gift, so they rip a fruit tree out of the garden and hand it to Mrs. Beachball. They demand a sugary fish treat--and Mr. Beachball produces a donut. On the donut, he has sprinkled the remnants from a tin of sardines.

The little Beachball girl calls the cops--and this interlude ends. Oblivious, the bad bears congratulate themselves on a fun evening. "It is nice to have a visit--and it is nice to *make* a visit." Fade to black.

I think this is like a modern-day version of a James Marshall story. The focus is on subtext. The little Beachball girl can't articulate her horror--so she simply says, "I'll make a phone call" right before dialing the police. Early in the book, one of the bad bears points to a particular display at the zoo. "Those are the penguins," he says. "They are afraid of us. Why? No reason...." We are left to fill in certain gaps.

It seems like Daniel Pinkwater writes nonstop. I'm branching out; I've just bought "The Big Orange Splot." Stay tuned.

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