Edith and Mr. Bear

Edith #5

by Dare Wright

Mr. Bear's expensive clock fascinates Edith. She just has to touch it. But when she does, it falls down with a crash. Unable to admit that she has broken it, Edith's guilty conscience makes her so unhappy that she can't even enjoy her birthday party. In fact, Edith feels so badly about lying to Mr. Bear that she contemplates running away. What happens next makes for a timeless story that will resonate with anyone who has ever tried to cover up the truth. Dare Wright's innovative black-and-white photographs make EDITH AND MR. BEAR as intriguing as it was when first published in 1964.

Genres: Picture Books, Childrens, Fiction, Classics, Photography, Fantasy, Art

64 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1972

Reviews

[karen]

THIS IS A BOOK WHERE... oh, no. i am not doing those anymore. this is a review where i follow alfonso's simple rules:

1. No more than 3 pictures.
2. You need to wave it something about my penis being huge in the review! I know you’ve never seen it! And proly never will! But still! You a good writer! You’ll find a way to praise my penis!
3. You should offend at least 1 good reader besides me!
4. You’ll need to make a reference to something completely no relevant to the book! Something about your life! A dirty secret would be nice!
5. You are also absolutely forbidden to say anything that relates to the book’s plot! I love reviews where people don’t talk about the freaking book!
6. You need to pick a song ! This song will be the sound track of the review! The reader will have the option to play it on you tube while reading the review!
7. Find away to blame Atiba for women having their period, global warming, the war on Iraq or whatever! The thing is that he needs to be blame of something!
8. NO obscure references! !
9. Let us know on what team are you on! Team Jacob or Team Edward!
10. And lastly answer this burning question! Who is the sexiest person in goodreads.com!

the song i have chosen is alice cooper's "years ago/steven" it(they) is(are) a() creepy song(s) about creepy things that echo the theme of this book, which themes i will not discuss. at all.

these photographs are disturbing, like the photographs of - oh, wait - i can't namedrop. TFB, bookworld! the only photograph more disturbing than the ones to be found in this book is alfonso's new avatar, which shows off his massive tool (and by "tool", i mean "water bottle") which no one is crowing about - do they not see his massive tool??



reading dare wright's biography really gave me some perspective about the inspiration for her photography. basically, she was a very lonely, sheltered girl who slept in the same bed as her mother throughout adulthood and constructed a sort of fantasy world that is heartbreaking in its fragility, and these pictures are indicative of the innerworkings of her mind and are disturbing and fascinating all at once.

the mother daughter dynamic between dare wright and her moms recalls grey gardens (which is in no way an obscure reference, as their awesome madness spawned two movies, a musical, and assorted other things that are in no way obscure. for the record)




an interlude, for monica:

cum cum jizz spunk cum cummy sandwich jizzy jizz cumfag splooge jizzpunch. cocktastic cumfucks. violence violence punch punch kick. block.

if i get kicked off of goodreads.com, i will assume it is all atiba's fault. (like everything in this world that is bad: olives, famine, crime, shark attacks) atiba - seriously everything you touch is ruined, and the air you exhale is poisoned with your demonic soul.

i love these photographs - just the "edith doll" and her teddies and discipline and a pervasive hauntedness. when i was a little girl, i had tons of stuffed animals (not that much has changed since then) and i would play elaborate games with them: sometimes we would play "stewardess" because i was totally liberated, right? and i would play "raft" but i never played anything involving spanking, and i could never have conjured up the imaginary tableaux that ms. wright created.

sometimes i still talk to them, but i am not necessarily lonely, just a little.

i love nutella.

i suppose, if it comes right down to it, i would rather be with a man who went all sparkly in direct sunlight than a man whose doghair would always be clogging my drain (twss)

so this is what happens when you GIS "hottest goodreader ever". so, i suppose whoever this avatar belongs to is the official hottest goodreader. research has made it so.

[image error]

i would love to talk some more about the actual contents of the book, but i think it is best seen for oneself. they are truly sad little photos for a sad always-to-be-little girl

is this success??

come to my blog!

[Hilary]

Sadly this Lonely doll story isn't a happy one. I loved the photography, Edith's outfits and hairstyles and I was even gripped by the story in a 'whatever will happen next way' but I would have just liked this one to be happier.

Poor Edith breaks something and daren't admit it, she becomes so unhappy she runs away. This was a gripping story, the poor doll sleeping next to a rubbish bin and thinking of stowing away on a boat. I was relieved when she didn't get punished for that but later in the book she tries to make a surprise for Mr Bear and when he finds this surprise meant she had to use matches both Edith and little Bear gets bent over and spanked. Horrible to see and creepy, this book had a very sad feeling and makes you think the author had a sad childhood.

If this hadn't been so sad I would have rated it highly.

Read on open library.

[Carol]

These books are so weird and inappropriate I'm actually kind of torn between giving them one star or five. They're the B movie version of children's literature.

[Mir]

More spanking. Also dressing, undressing, and bathing. Lying, psychological manipulation, quarrels, running away from home...

[Theresa]

Such strange books, I can't believe they were ever published. They were weird even for the 60s, let's be honest. Whoever described The Lonely Doll books in their review as the "b-movie version of children's literature" wasn't wrong.

[Jessie Drew]

I love all of the Lonely Doll books. This one is one of the top stories from the series. Highly recommend.

[Roughseasinthemed]

The photos are brilliant. The theme is uh, spooky to say the least. As a child I loved these books. Still have them.

But the father figure, spanking, a little girl? Oh no. But as a book of the time, it was good.

[Gina House]

This is a very strange children's book. I love the cover and the pink gingham border and back, as well as the overly large size of the book. The photographs are gorgeous and so cleverly arranged. You can almost imagine that the doll, Edith, Mr. Bear and Little Bear are actually alive. I could pour over the stunning photographs all day.

That said, the story has an overall sad and "a child being naughty" negative feel to it. The dialogue and events in the book switch from very sweet and touching to (in my mind) a little shocking. There is a photo of Mr. Bear spanking both Little Bear and Edith (with her dress completely pulled up and I was very surprised to see that included in a children's book.)

I don't know how I feel about Edith and Mr. Bear. Half of me loves it because of its aesthetics and the other half is repelled by the story and behavior. I found this at a used book store for only a few dollars and I'm glad I didn't spend much money on it.

I don't think I will keep this book in my collection but, because it is so old and falling apart a bit, I might remove the pages and just keep some of the photos. I wouldn't read or recommend this title to any children I know. But, if you've read this and feel differently, I'd love to know and hear your views.

[Amy]

This was my favorite book when I was growing up. I loved to look at the pictures, I remember getting it at the library so many times. I can still recall in my mind Edith climbing up the books and breaking the clock. When I got one of those clocks for a wedding gift it reminded me of the book.

[Medeia Sharif]

This is the second time I read something from Wright. I read the first in the series and this is equally as good. In this installment, Edith breaks something, acts unlike herself due to her guilt, and takes extreme measures to cover up her actions and feelings.

[Connie]

Beyond bizarre.

[Madame Jane]

Edith brakes Mr. Bear's beloved clock and runs away.

[Juniper Lily]

Interesting and beautiful as an art book but not for small children w spanking scene and making bad choices.

[Diane Distefano]

Childhood favorite.

[Esutterlin]

This is an oldie but goody. Of course the doll's name, Edith, makes it very dated, but the name is obviously why this book first appealed to me as a child. Then the fact that she is always getting into trouble, often because she doesn't do what she is told, that also resonated with me. But I still like the book for the illustrations - the idea of placing a doll and teddy bear(s) in real home/country settings and using the photographs to help tell the story was always appealing to me, and I emulated the technique in creating a story for my children at least once.
Of course the date read is just a guess, and I've read it several times since the first few times way back when.

[Kate Maxwell]

I love 'Edith and Mr. Bear'! I think every young girl, who is learning, or just learned, to read should have a copy of this book. The black and white photos are amazing and I loved the story.

'Edith and Mr. Bear' is part of the Lonely Doll series. It's about a doll who breaks a clock on her birthday and runs away. Mr. Bear and Little Bear go to find her.

It was one of those books that stayed with me for a very long time, and I was glad that I was able to find it again.

If you can get your hands on this one, I would recommend it!

[Deirdre K]

How do you rate a book like this? I remember trying to describe it to Maria way back when we were listing favorites from our childhood. It sounded so horrific, she thought I was making it up, only to find it a week or so later in a bookstore.

It's fascinating and haunting, and I'd never want to own it (though I can understand why others, more artistic than I, would). Something disturbing under the surface, though I did love it as a little girl.

[Hilary]

It's difficult to fathom the controversy this book raises. Readers "back in the day" were not alarmed by corporal punishment; children at that time -- and I was one of them -- were not surprised that Edith was punished. Since young children are "concrete" thinkers, from a child's perspective: when a rule (or a clock) is broken, there must be balance/correction.

Nowadays the book is not "pc."

Just saying.

[Tosh]

Dare Wright was the most fu**ked up children author ever. A family history that is totally gothic in nature - and yet, her work which is so disturbing to look at as an adult was a major hit for the kiddies of the 50's. It is also a work of gothic genius. There has to be a major exhibition and catalogue of her work - now please!

[Maritess]

V. controversial children's book series because it has really kinky pictures of spanking and underpants down. Unforgettable book that people in the 1950s say was so astounding, they wrote to the publisher and now it is in reprint, enjoying a new popularity.

the photos are amazing, this is pre-photoshop and the bear and the doll seem to be actually alive with all the poses.

[Jennifer]

This book must have made a profound impression on me, because I recall reading it at the library when I was no older than 6 or 7. I am going to order it from Amazon -- I read about it in the NYT last year and it jogged my memory. I can't wait to read it as an adult, all these decades later.

[Susan]

The lonely doll series is one that I would check out as often as I could in my elementary school library.
Dare Wright's innovative approach to story telling through photographing toys, has stayed with me my whole life.I wish I had had a girl to buy them for!

[Rachel]

I'm in my 8th decade of life & just discovered the books written by Dare Wright. This book was written in 1964. Such a beautiful children's book. A story of being naughty, the lessons of telling a fib, and forgiveness. Wish I would have known of these books when my children were young.

[Audrey]

Portal of nostalgia. I like puppets and I like this book. Plus, Dare Wright is fascinating.

[Peter]

Always wondered how Dare Wright's therapist felt about some the themes she explores in what is ostensibly a children's book series. I love the imagery of NYC in the early 1960s though.

[Athena]

These books are creepy.

[Tobinsfavorite]

I got this from the library this week, having had another Edith book growing up. The photos are beautiful, the story is timeless. You should make some effort to read Edith.

[Shannon Alwaise]

Someone gave this to me when I was really young and it was one of my favorite books.

[InkandSam]

Who does Mr. Bear think he is?! He moves into Edith's house and starts bossing her around.

[Teresa]

Another wonderful children's classic by Wright. These books never grow old.