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Fat Man in a Fur Coat and Other Bear Stories
All types of bears abound in this compilation of fifty legends, myths, tall tales, anecdotes, and factual accounts about bears spanning the ages from prehistoric times to the present
- GenresChildrens
168 pages, Paperback
First published July 1, 1984
About the author
Alvin Schwartz
78 books738 followersAlvin^Schwartz
Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.
Alvin Schwartz was the author of more than fifty books dedicated to and dealing with topics such as folklore and word play, many of which were intended for young readers. He is often confused with another Alvin_Schwartz, who wrote Superman and Batman daily comics strips and a novel titled The Blowtop.
For Batman - See: Alvin^^Schwartz https://www.goodreads.com/author/show...
Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.
Alvin Schwartz was the author of more than fifty books dedicated to and dealing with topics such as folklore and word play, many of which were intended for young readers. He is often confused with another Alvin_Schwartz, who wrote Superman and Batman daily comics strips and a novel titled The Blowtop.
For Batman - See: Alvin^^Schwartz https://www.goodreads.com/author/show...
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
February 4, 2017
I was hoping for tall tales, amusing stories, anecdotes, and bear lore when I yanked this one off the library shelf. In fact, this little story was exactly what I had in mind:
My Father's Gun
I was walking along in the woods with my father's old gun when I ran into this grizzly bear. I fired at him, but I missed, and he started after me. I ran to a big fir tree and dropped the gun and climbed the tree. Then the bear tried to climb it, but he couldn't. He was too big and heavy. So he sat around at the bottom and waited.
After about half an hour, he picked up the gun and pointed it at me. There was nothing in it but an empty shell, and when he pulled the trigger, it snapped. When that happened he looked up at me, and he held out his hand for another shell. Of course, I wouldn't give him one.
Less than the last third of the book contained little gems like that one.
Most of it concerns dismal accounts of man's cruelty to bears - from bear baiting, to Abraham Lincoln's poem about a bear hunt, to the seven black bears who survived as test subjects on the supersonic B-58 bomber, only to be dissected for scientific study - history is awash in the blood of bears.
And noted bear fanatic Grizzly Adams?
What a dick!
He frequently killed mother bears so he could "raise" the orphaned cubs. Once when he did that, the cubs were quite young, and still nursing. Animal lover Grizzly's solution? Kill a greyhound's pups and let her nurse the cubs.
ARGGGH!
Anyway, if none of this annoys you, you may enjoy the book more than I did.
I prefer the stories where the bear shoots back.
My Father's Gun
I was walking along in the woods with my father's old gun when I ran into this grizzly bear. I fired at him, but I missed, and he started after me. I ran to a big fir tree and dropped the gun and climbed the tree. Then the bear tried to climb it, but he couldn't. He was too big and heavy. So he sat around at the bottom and waited.
After about half an hour, he picked up the gun and pointed it at me. There was nothing in it but an empty shell, and when he pulled the trigger, it snapped. When that happened he looked up at me, and he held out his hand for another shell. Of course, I wouldn't give him one.
Less than the last third of the book contained little gems like that one.
Most of it concerns dismal accounts of man's cruelty to bears - from bear baiting, to Abraham Lincoln's poem about a bear hunt, to the seven black bears who survived as test subjects on the supersonic B-58 bomber, only to be dissected for scientific study - history is awash in the blood of bears.
And noted bear fanatic Grizzly Adams?
What a dick!
He frequently killed mother bears so he could "raise" the orphaned cubs. Once when he did that, the cubs were quite young, and still nursing. Animal lover Grizzly's solution? Kill a greyhound's pups and let her nurse the cubs.
ARGGGH!
Anyway, if none of this annoys you, you may enjoy the book more than I did.
I prefer the stories where the bear shoots back.
February 23, 2023
📢This book is definitely not for animal lovers or the faint of the heart 📢
I don’t remember buying this book. It’s been sitting on my shelf for quite some time. I figured I’d give it a try but gosh I almost wish I never read it 😭 I’ve been always been an animal lover and hearing some of the stories about how bear cubs got taken away from their mothers broke my heart 💔 and they were abused by kidnappers. It was interesting to learn about how Native American Indians respected the bears and saw them as “Gods”. I really enjoyed learning about bears and how they hibernate during different seasons. Most likely not my favorite book this year but I did learn some things I didn’t know before 🤷🏼♀️
I don’t remember buying this book. It’s been sitting on my shelf for quite some time. I figured I’d give it a try but gosh I almost wish I never read it 😭 I’ve been always been an animal lover and hearing some of the stories about how bear cubs got taken away from their mothers broke my heart 💔 and they were abused by kidnappers. It was interesting to learn about how Native American Indians respected the bears and saw them as “Gods”. I really enjoyed learning about bears and how they hibernate during different seasons. Most likely not my favorite book this year but I did learn some things I didn’t know before 🤷🏼♀️
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews