Title: The Biggest Bear
Author: Lynd Ward
Illustrator: Lynd Ward
Publisher: Houghton Mifflin
Year: 1952
Awards/Accolades: Caldecott Medal
Summary: Johnny is embarrassed that his farm is the only one without a big bearskin drying on the wall, so he sets out to catch the biggest bear. What he finds is a cub, which he brings home. Cute little cub grows into tame but huge bear who eats anything he can. Johnny must return the bear to the woods, but the bear keeps finding his way home. Johnny's dad tells him he must shoot the bear (n.b. that info is expressed through the art, not explicitly stated), so they head back into the woods. This time they are both caught in a bear trap. The trap was set by the zoo, so now the bear has a happy (?) new home and Johnny can visit him any time. Definitely a representation of a specific time - not today!
Use in Classroom/Library: Read aloud
Curriculum Connections:
Social Studies: with older students, discuss the differences in the story to how society generally acts today (kids with guns, shooting animals, capturing wild animals for zoos)
This title is in the Saint Joseph School Library.
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