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Irving and Muktuk
Bad Bears and a Bunny: An Irving and Muktuk Story
Irving and Muktuk are polar bears in the Bayonne, New Jersey, zoo. They wish they had privileges like their polar bear friend Roy, who goes home every night at six o clock. But they are known as bad bears. The Zoo Director thinks Irving and Muktuk are not to be trusted.
One morning a small white bunny shows up, eating grass at the edge of the polar bear enclosure. Irving and Muktuk aren t sure what to make of it. They don t know how to behave. They make the bunny mad. Trouble is brewing at the zoo.
When their friend Roy invites them to a party at a fancy hotel, Irving and Muktuk are asked to behave themselves. They assure Roy that they can be trusted. But trust doesn t come easily, and when the bears arrive at the party, they are soon put to the test."
One morning a small white bunny shows up, eating grass at the edge of the polar bear enclosure. Irving and Muktuk aren t sure what to make of it. They don t know how to behave. They make the bunny mad. Trouble is brewing at the zoo.
When their friend Roy invites them to a party at a fancy hotel, Irving and Muktuk are asked to behave themselves. They assure Roy that they can be trusted. But trust doesn t come easily, and when the bears arrive at the party, they are soon put to the test."
32 pages, Hardcover
First published April 4, 2005
About the author
Daniel Pinkwater
143 books430 followersDaniel Manus Pinkwater is an author of mostly children's books and is an occasional commentator on National Public Radio. He attended Bard College. Well-known books include Lizard Music, The Snarkout Boys and the Avocado of Death, Fat Men from Space, Borgel, and the picture book The Big Orange Splot. Pinkwater has also illustrated many of his books in the past, although for more recent works that task has passed to his wife Jill Pinkwater.
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Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews
February 4, 2020
Irving and Muktuk, two bad bears with a weakness for blueberry muffins, return for their third hilarious adventure in Bad Bears and a Bunny. Lovable, clueless, and wholly untrustworthy, they make the mistake of taunting a little white bunny, only to learn that bunnies can be VERY dangerous...
This third foray into the wonderful world of the two Bad Bears features the Pinkwaters' usual blend of off-beat humor and droll illustrations. The fierce little bunny is just one of many intimidating rabbits to be found in the series (Officer Bunny in Irving and Muktuk: Two Bad Bears , Police Captain Hare in Bad Bear Detectives: An Irving and Muktuk Story ), and the role-reversal makes for a deliriously amusing tale. Highly recommended, but be warned: once you begin reading about Irving and Muktuk, you won't want to stop.
This third foray into the wonderful world of the two Bad Bears features the Pinkwaters' usual blend of off-beat humor and droll illustrations. The fierce little bunny is just one of many intimidating rabbits to be found in the series (Officer Bunny in Irving and Muktuk: Two Bad Bears , Police Captain Hare in Bad Bear Detectives: An Irving and Muktuk Story ), and the role-reversal makes for a deliriously amusing tale. Highly recommended, but be warned: once you begin reading about Irving and Muktuk, you won't want to stop.
May 14, 2017
Ok, I really doubt you can love this one if you've not read at least some of the previous. But the backstory is spelled out, so go ahead and try if this is the one you can get. The pictures of the characters dancing is, alone, worth your effort.
August 2, 2018
Some comments:
1. This was less wordy than the previous book, Bad Bear Detectives: An Irving and Muktuk Story, so that was helpful.
2. This is usually cited as the official crossover book between the Larry series and the Irving & Muktuk series. However, if you pay attention to the illustrations, I&M show up at least as early as Bongo Larry, and Larry's brother Roy pops up all the way back in Bad Bears in the Big City: An Irving & Muktuk Story. Continuity matters, people!
3. The plot about an intimidating bunny is funny, but not Pinkwater's best. True to the Pinkwater polar bear genre, the bears don't learn any meaningful lessons at the end. My daughter was disappointed that they never dance with the bunny, as the cover implies.
1. This was less wordy than the previous book, Bad Bear Detectives: An Irving and Muktuk Story, so that was helpful.
2. This is usually cited as the official crossover book between the Larry series and the Irving & Muktuk series. However, if you pay attention to the illustrations, I&M show up at least as early as Bongo Larry, and Larry's brother Roy pops up all the way back in Bad Bears in the Big City: An Irving & Muktuk Story. Continuity matters, people!
3. The plot about an intimidating bunny is funny, but not Pinkwater's best. True to the Pinkwater polar bear genre, the bears don't learn any meaningful lessons at the end. My daughter was disappointed that they never dance with the bunny, as the cover implies.
October 24, 2008
I picked up this third book in the Bad Bears series and the fourth book too, and on my way home bought some blueberry (bran) muffins and ate one while reading the two books. Yes, these Bad Bear books can cause a hankering for muffins.
This is probably my least favorite book of the four I’ve read. There are five published so far and I hope Daniel and Jill Pinkwater write and illustrate many more.
I think this was my least favorite because Irving & Muktuk just weren’t bad enough to amuse me, although as it’s said, they are not extremely bad because they’ve never eaten a person, only muffins. These “not to be trusted” bears have hilarious expressions and are so lovable.
This is probably my least favorite book of the four I’ve read. There are five published so far and I hope Daniel and Jill Pinkwater write and illustrate many more.
I think this was my least favorite because Irving & Muktuk just weren’t bad enough to amuse me, although as it’s said, they are not extremely bad because they’ve never eaten a person, only muffins. These “not to be trusted” bears have hilarious expressions and are so lovable.
October 12, 2017
Every time I read a Pinkwater book, especially the polar bear series, I wonder how they became so madly popular. They're just so, so weird. Not inherently bad, just strange.
January 4, 2019
Oh, Roy is related to Larry the Dancing Bear. That makes sense. The two bears are afraid of a violent rabbit, which also makes sense.
April 21, 2023
Irving and Muktuk learn the consequences of both good and bad behavior. Such funny characters.
February 16, 2015
Booklist February 15, 2005 (Vol. 101, No. 12)
K-Gr. 2. Irving and Muktuk, the bad polar bears of two previous books, find themselves cowed by a bunny in this brisk tale. Roy, a good bear, lives in an apartment near the zoo. He invites Irving and Muktuk to a party after they agree to behave, although as they note, "We're not to be trusted."Roy is willing to take a chance, but having warned him, Irving and Muktuk feel they have carte blanche to do their worst. Also at the party is a bunny that readers have met a few pages earlier when he was doing his best to terrorize the bad bears. They spend the party trying to avoid the rabbit, and, for once, the duo is under control. A foreshortened, one-joke story doesn't always a book make, but this has the advantage of Daniel Pinkwater's droll, understated text and Jill Pinkwater's giggleworthy artwork in felt-tip marker and ink. The focus is always on those two white bears, and sometimes there's not much going on in the pictures, but a pop of excitement comes from the bears'own relationship.
Horn Book Fall 2005
When Irving and Muktuk, two "bad bears," tease a bunny, it retaliates and kicks and bites them. Later, they are invited to a party on the condition they behave (though they intend otherwise), but when they see the bunny, they're too nervous to act up. Although the story feels unresolved, it's amusing and enhanced by the sly illustrations.
Kirkus Reviews March 15, 2005
Polar bears have a reputation for trouble, and Irving and Muktuk carry on the tradition in their benign, zoo-bound way. This third installment finds the bears busy poking fun at a white bunny (having first confused it with a small polar bear): "Grass-eater! Grass-eater!" they chide. The bunny takes offense and remedial action, kicking Irving in the ankle and nipping Mukluk's toe. The bears flee and cower, though they put up a brave front later when invited to a party outside the zoo: "You know, we are not to be trusted." The bunny is also a guest; the bad bears cringe and behave like altar boys. Perhaps Daniel Pinkwater has beveled the bears' naughtiness too much, knocking them from their perch as congenital miscreants. However, this new twist-bullies who've been cowed-is yet another black mark for the boys, one they will likely wear with clueless pride. And Jill Pinkwater has made sure that the bears, on that last page, still sport the glint of subversion in their eyes-albeit under pink party hats. (Picture book. 4-8)
Publishers Weekly April 4, 2005
Fresh from their adventures in the Big City, the muffin-thieving polar bears, restricted to their new home behind bars in a zoo in Bayonne, N.J., meet their match in Bad Bears and a Bunny: An Irving and Muktuk Story by Daniel Pinkwater, illus. by Jill Pinkwater. A third polar bear who works at the zoo introduces the duo to his friend, a rabbit, and they don't exactly hit it off. Copyright 2005 Reed Business Information.
School Library Journal March 1, 2005
PreS-Gr 2-In this third tale about the muffin-stealing polar bears who live at the zoo in Bayonne, NJ, Irving and Muktuk tease a bunny: "Hey, bunny-boy!...You-eat...grass! Grass-eater! Grass-eater! Yah, yah, yah!" In return, they are kicked and bitten and come to fear the little creature, so when they attend a party where he is also a guest, they find it hard to exhibit their usual mischievous behavior. The author's droll sense of humor makes this book a winner. The marker-and-ink illustrations work well with the story, with the stark white, humanlike bears taking center stage on most spreads. This book should find an audience in most libraries, particularly where Irving and Muktuk are popular.-Kelley Rae Unger, Peabody Institute, MA Copyright 2005 Reed Business Information.
K-Gr. 2. Irving and Muktuk, the bad polar bears of two previous books, find themselves cowed by a bunny in this brisk tale. Roy, a good bear, lives in an apartment near the zoo. He invites Irving and Muktuk to a party after they agree to behave, although as they note, "We're not to be trusted."Roy is willing to take a chance, but having warned him, Irving and Muktuk feel they have carte blanche to do their worst. Also at the party is a bunny that readers have met a few pages earlier when he was doing his best to terrorize the bad bears. They spend the party trying to avoid the rabbit, and, for once, the duo is under control. A foreshortened, one-joke story doesn't always a book make, but this has the advantage of Daniel Pinkwater's droll, understated text and Jill Pinkwater's giggleworthy artwork in felt-tip marker and ink. The focus is always on those two white bears, and sometimes there's not much going on in the pictures, but a pop of excitement comes from the bears'own relationship.
Horn Book Fall 2005
When Irving and Muktuk, two "bad bears," tease a bunny, it retaliates and kicks and bites them. Later, they are invited to a party on the condition they behave (though they intend otherwise), but when they see the bunny, they're too nervous to act up. Although the story feels unresolved, it's amusing and enhanced by the sly illustrations.
Kirkus Reviews March 15, 2005
Polar bears have a reputation for trouble, and Irving and Muktuk carry on the tradition in their benign, zoo-bound way. This third installment finds the bears busy poking fun at a white bunny (having first confused it with a small polar bear): "Grass-eater! Grass-eater!" they chide. The bunny takes offense and remedial action, kicking Irving in the ankle and nipping Mukluk's toe. The bears flee and cower, though they put up a brave front later when invited to a party outside the zoo: "You know, we are not to be trusted." The bunny is also a guest; the bad bears cringe and behave like altar boys. Perhaps Daniel Pinkwater has beveled the bears' naughtiness too much, knocking them from their perch as congenital miscreants. However, this new twist-bullies who've been cowed-is yet another black mark for the boys, one they will likely wear with clueless pride. And Jill Pinkwater has made sure that the bears, on that last page, still sport the glint of subversion in their eyes-albeit under pink party hats. (Picture book. 4-8)
Publishers Weekly April 4, 2005
Fresh from their adventures in the Big City, the muffin-thieving polar bears, restricted to their new home behind bars in a zoo in Bayonne, N.J., meet their match in Bad Bears and a Bunny: An Irving and Muktuk Story by Daniel Pinkwater, illus. by Jill Pinkwater. A third polar bear who works at the zoo introduces the duo to his friend, a rabbit, and they don't exactly hit it off. Copyright 2005 Reed Business Information.
School Library Journal March 1, 2005
PreS-Gr 2-In this third tale about the muffin-stealing polar bears who live at the zoo in Bayonne, NJ, Irving and Muktuk tease a bunny: "Hey, bunny-boy!...You-eat...grass! Grass-eater! Grass-eater! Yah, yah, yah!" In return, they are kicked and bitten and come to fear the little creature, so when they attend a party where he is also a guest, they find it hard to exhibit their usual mischievous behavior. The author's droll sense of humor makes this book a winner. The marker-and-ink illustrations work well with the story, with the stark white, humanlike bears taking center stage on most spreads. This book should find an audience in most libraries, particularly where Irving and Muktuk are popular.-Kelley Rae Unger, Peabody Institute, MA Copyright 2005 Reed Business Information.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 19, 2012
Bad Bears and a Bunny by Daniel Pinkwater - Irving and Muktuk are polar bears who live at the Bayonne New Jersey zoo with another bear names Roy. Irving and Muktuk are known to be bad bears, unlike Roy who has earned extra privileges for good behavior. One day they spy a dangerous looking bunny near their enclosure, so they hide. When Roy's brother Larry invites the bears to a party, he invites the bunny to the party too! What will the two bad bears do? ~Ms. Becky, 2009
December 15, 2009
As bad as I thought the original book was, this one is worse. The artistic style is harsh and not welcoming at all in my opinion. The storyline is jerky and confusing to young readers. Not worth the minutes it takes to read it.
November 24, 2008
Another laugh out loud silly book.
November 19, 2012
hilarious. It had us laughing out loud. "we are not to be trusted"
August 19, 2013
The bad polar bears are sent to the zoo because they tease, mock, make a mess and steal muffins. It takes a bunny to keep them straight and turn them into good bears.
February 25, 2013
Not as good as the original but still funnier that most anything else in print.
Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews