Bear Party

Koala Park

by William Pène du Bois

A wise old koala bear plans a costume party to stop the terrible feuding among the koalas

Genres: Picture Books, Childrens, Animals, Australia

48 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1951

About the author

William Pène du Bois was an American writer and illustrator of books for young readers. He is best known for The Twenty-One Balloons, published in April 1947 by Viking Press, for which he won the 1948 Newbery Medal. As illustrator he was twice a runner-up for the Caldecott Medal.

The Twenty-One Balloons is the work by Pène du Bois that WorldCat reports most widely held in participating libraries, by a wide margin. His other most widely held works are five books written by others, which he illustrated (below), and the two Caldecott Honor picture books, which he also wrote.

From 1953 to 1960, Pène du Bois was art editor of The Paris Review, working alongside founder and editor George Plimpton.

Reviews

[Calista · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a happy little book. This book is about a group of Koala’s. They are so cute an adorable. Wow, how the children feel in love with this book. It was a very old copy that we had to be delicate with and so it was very difficult for my nephew - a true bull-in-a-china-shop.

The bears are angry with each other and no one knows why, so the wise old koala at the top of the tree throws a costume party. Seeing the Koala bears dress up is beyond cute. They dance all day and when they take off their costumes, they don’t recognize each other and get angry again. So, the old koala has them put their costumes back on and dance all night. Everything does get resolved.

Why isn’t this story more read? It’s a wonderful simple tale for beginning readers about cute as can be koala bears in dress up. My kids loved it. I thought it was a lot of fun too. This needs to be read again. It’s a sugar overload.

[Rod Brown · Rating 2 out of 5]

The bears of Koala Park are angry with each other for no real reason, so one proposes a costume party to help make them friends again.

The only interesting part of this book was when the party organizer suddenly ordered everyone to shed their costumes, and I started to imagine a make-up orgy, but the author went in a much stupider direction.

[Michael Fitzgerald · Rating 3 out of 5]

Illustrations better than the story.

[Cassandra Gelvin · Rating 3 out of 5]

All koala bears look alike. (“That's racist!”)

What. This is a weird book. It feels like it should have a moral, but it absolutely does not. There's no way I can get a moral out of this, but it feels like it's moralizing about something. Maybe it's just a moral I can't see.

There's a bunch of koala bears and for some unknown reason they get mad at each other and stop looking at each other. The wise bear says, "We're going to have a party! It's going to be a masquerade party!" Which of course gives the artist license to draw a bunch of rather stereotypical caricatures. But, hey. And they have lots of fun at the party. And then the wise old bear says, "Take off your costumes!" And since koala bears look alike, they can't recognize each other. And they're like, "Oh no!" So they put their costumes back on and they're happy again. And then they just wear a part of their costumes until they learn to recognize each other without the costumes. And the wise bear says, "More parties!" Maybe the message is, "Parties are awesome"? I don't know. Hard to tell.

It really feels like it's straining to say something about prejudice, or maybe war, but I can't for the life of me figure out what.

Message: Parties are awesome?

For more children's book reviews, see my website at http://www.drttmk.com.

[Summer · Rating 3 out of 5]

A Caldecott Honor book.

About a bunch of koalas 🐨 not getting along, and how the wise, old bear fixed it by dressing up for a masquerade. I think it would be a perfect book for those that have both boys and girls in the family, as it has both in it. That being said, our boys all really enjoyed the book too.

[Rachel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Bear Party will blow your mind. You will never go to another party like Bear Party. Warning: May frighten children who are scared of bears wearing masks, which was definitely me as a kid because this book was terrifying but no regrets

[Rachel · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was an odd book. I’m pretty sure I wouldn’t have picked this up if it weren’t for the fact that it was a 1952 Caldecott Honor winner. The Koalas cannot get along. So the eldest wisest Koala decided that they should have a costumed ball, so they can be together in the same room without being angry. I liked that they all had head-to-toe costumes complete with headwear, outfits and shoes. They also had a band so they everyone could dance. Unfortunately it didn’t really work the first time when they tried to remove their costumes and be together, as they took everything off and they couldn’t identify each other after being separated and mad for so long. So they put the costumes on again and the elder said they could have one piece of their costume on and after awhile, they could live together without any costumes. Both my son and I were bored by this book. Recommended for ages 3-6, 2 stars.

[Ed · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is definitely one of my all-time favorite Caldecott Honor books, and one that I am still amazed didn't win the Medal for it's year (lost out to Finders Keepers). The illustrations are absolutely beautiful, and incredibly adorable without being too "cutesy". The costumes that the bears wear to their party are all fabulous, and the story is wonderful as well. I would highly recommend this book to everyone, and even though I have read it many times before, I had a great time reading it again for #nerdcott. I consider this book a classic, even if it is not as well-known as it should be.

[Aschafe2]

This is a great fantasy story about the Koala Park where real teddy bears live in trees. The bears were the happiest that anyone could see. Then one day one thing led to another and the bears stopped talking or looking at each other. Then at the top of the trees the wise old bear said something must be done. So they dressed up in costumes, and had a party. Having so much fun at the party they forgot who was who. They took off the mask and could not tell each other apart, the bears put clues on the bodies to tell each other apart. the teddy bears were all friends.

[Katie Fitzgerald · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book reminds me of the Teddy Bears Picnic song. I liked the illustrations of the costumes the bears wore the party, and the sound words used to evoke the music played at the party. I wasn’t quite sure what to make of the fact that the bears no longer recognized each other without their costumes, but it seemed like a commentary on how people grow apart when they fight to the point that they stop really knowing each other and focus instead on their anger. In any case, I think most kids would agree that a party is a pretty good way to end fights and bad feelings.

[Maria Rowe · Rating 4 out of 5]

• 1952 Caldecott Honor Book •

The illustrations are really charming. I like this book, but I’m not really sure if there’s a moral or what the point is? The koalas are fighting with each other, so the old wise bear decides to have a masquerade ball. But the bears don’t recognize each other without their costumes. I feel like it’s some commentary on how when you become angry and drift apart, you forget who the other person (koala) really is. Or something. I’m not sure. Cute illustrations though!

Materials used: unlisted
Typeface used: unlisted

[Paul · Rating 4 out of 5]

The stand-out quality of this book is the charm of the illustrations. Although the koalas fighting among themselves seems a bit contrived, the use of the costumes at a party to mitigate their conflict and then to identify themselves keep the book from being a simplistic morality tale. (This is my last of the 313 Caldecott medalists and honorees.)

[Kari · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a favorite of mine when I was a child...it was wonderful to read it 25 years later to my girls.

[Jim · Rating 5 out of 5]

really cute book about koalas. and they dress up and dance. even has a moral to go w/the wonderful pictures

[Amanda · Rating 4 out of 5]

Adorable illustrations. The wise old bear throws a costume party to make all the bears like each other again.

[Mckinley · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love all the costumed bears.
Maybe why I loved Koalas when I was little?

[Laura5 · Rating 3 out of 5]

Video blog post:
http://liblaura5.blogspot.com/2012/05...

[Ama · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very cute story and illustrations.

[Brindi Michele · Rating 4 out of 5]

1952 Caldecott honor

[Emily · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have fond memories of reading this book in elementary school.

[Lise Petrauskas]

Illustrations to drool over...

[Laura Hoyler · Rating 2 out of 5]

The pictures were cute, but the message was a little off. No one got along until they wore disguses? I know in the very end they do, but not the message I want my students to get.

[Jen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nice illustrations, odd story. Appeared to be a story with a moral, but I'm not sure what that moral was.

[Adele · Rating 2 out of 5]

I love Bear Circus a book from my childhood, so after revisiting it recently (see my review) I was interested to read this other bear book by the author. Unfortunately, it was quite disappointing. The story is pointless and makes no sense and, while the bears are still cute, the pictures are nowhere near as magical. I do not have childhood memories of this one, but even if Bear Circus got an extra star or even two thanks to nostalgia, Bear Circus is still much better.

[Gila Gila · Rating 5 out of 5]

KOALAS IN COSTUMES. KOALAS DRESSED UP AS BULLFIGHTERS, MASKED ANGELS, NAPOLEON!
Koalas dancing “very hard to do dances which they made up all by themselves.”
The lesson of this book is that if a bunch of people or koalas are being grouchy and unpleasant to each other, just hold a big costume party (elaborate masks and fashionable diguise mandatory, wonderful artwork in this sweetie pie of a little book will show you the way), and after much merriment, shout OFF WITH YOUR COSTUMES!! And … Woah! No one can recognize each other anymore! So no more bickering and on with the dancing!

If you can swing an invite to this party, get me a plus one and I’m yours for life.

[Michelle Jackson · Rating 3 out of 5]

This same author wrote "The Twenty-One Balloons" which was a charming little chapter book. This book is for a much younger crowd, and although a Caldecott Honor Book, I was underwhelmed. I'm pretty sure that it's propaganda to children that they should grow up having costume/masquerade parties to resolve their life issues/disagreements. Not an unreasonable suggestion if we want to get into the psychology of it, however it really could just be a random children's book without any moral or consumer agendas.

[Molly · Rating 2 out of 5]

One day, a group of koala bears doesn't get along until a wise old bear decides to throw a masquerade party. This Caldecott Honor winner has very nice illustrations but the story is really weird. I didn't really see a point or message to it. I would also have to say that some of its illustrations might be considered offensive by today's standards with stereotypical depictions of various cultures. Not one I'd recommend.

[Dennis Yool · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was first published as a children's book when I was born. Now it is a book to be read by adults. It is time to take off our masks, discover our neighbo(u)rs, and learn to live together without growling. It's a great kids book too!

[Jessica · Rating 2 out of 5]

Koala bears at a costume party would have been really cute, but "Chinese" and "Indian" aren't costumes.

[MaryAnne · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really cute story about a community of koala bears needing a costume party to help them become friends again. Caldecott Honor Book