The Biggest Bear
Encyclopedia
The Biggest Bear is a children's picture book
by Lynd Ward
, first published in 1952. It was illustrated using opaque watercolors, and won the prestigious Caldecott Medal
for illustration in 1953.
Johnny Orchard, a young boy, is jealous because his neighbors have bear pelts
hanging on their barn
s, so he takes a rifle and goes hunting
for the biggest bear
in the valley. However, when he finds only a bear cub, he befriends it by feeding it maple sugar and brings the bear home as a pet
. As it grows, it becomes a nuisance to his family and the neighbors due to its enormous appetite. After the neighbors complain to his father, Johnny tries three times to return the bear to the woods. Each time the bear follows Johnny back home. Finally Johnny and his father decide the only way to solve the problem is to shoot the bear. Johnny takes the bear far into the woods, but while loading his rifle, the bear runs off and into a live trap that has maple sugar
in it. Men who had set the trap to capture animals for the zoo
soon come. They take Johnny's bear to a zoo where Johnny can visit him anytime.
-winning The Denial of Death
, Ernest Becker
cited The Biggest Bear as an example of how the innate human fear can become manifested in literature.
Picture book
A picture book combines visual and verbal narratives in a book format, most often aimed at young children. The images in picture books use a range of media such as oil paints, acrylics, watercolor and pencil.Two of the earliest books with something like the format picture books still retain now...
by Lynd Ward
Lynd Ward
Lynd Kendall Ward was an American artist and storyteller, and son of Methodist minister and prominent political organizer Harry F. Ward. He illustrated some 200 juvenile and adult books...
, first published in 1952. It was illustrated using opaque watercolors, and won the prestigious Caldecott Medal
Caldecott Medal
The Caldecott Medal is awarded annually by the Association for Library Service to Children , a division of the American Library Association, to the artist of the most distinguished American picture book for children published that year. The award was named in honor of nineteenth-century English...
for illustration in 1953.
Johnny Orchard, a young boy, is jealous because his neighbors have bear pelts
Fur trade
The fur trade is a worldwide industry dealing in the acquisition and sale of animal fur. Since the establishment of world market for in the early modern period furs of boreal, polar and cold temperate mammalian animals have been the most valued...
hanging on their barn
Barn
A barn is an agricultural building used for storage and as a covered workplace. It may sometimes be used to house livestock or to store farming vehicles and equipment...
s, so he takes a rifle and goes hunting
Hunting
Hunting is the practice of pursuing any living thing, usually wildlife, for food, recreation, or trade. In present-day use, the term refers to lawful hunting, as distinguished from poaching, which is the killing, trapping or capture of the hunted species contrary to applicable law...
for the biggest bear
Bear
Bears are mammals of the family Ursidae. Bears are classified as caniforms, or doglike carnivorans, with the pinnipeds being their closest living relatives. Although there are only eight living species of bear, they are widespread, appearing in a wide variety of habitats throughout the Northern...
in the valley. However, when he finds only a bear cub, he befriends it by feeding it maple sugar and brings the bear home as a pet
Pet
A pet is a household animal kept for companionship and a person's enjoyment, as opposed to wild animals or to livestock, laboratory animals, working animals or sport animals, which are kept for economic or productive reasons. The most popular pets are noted for their loyal or playful...
. As it grows, it becomes a nuisance to his family and the neighbors due to its enormous appetite. After the neighbors complain to his father, Johnny tries three times to return the bear to the woods. Each time the bear follows Johnny back home. Finally Johnny and his father decide the only way to solve the problem is to shoot the bear. Johnny takes the bear far into the woods, but while loading his rifle, the bear runs off and into a live trap that has maple sugar
Maple sugar
Maple sugar is a traditional sweetener in the northeastern United States and Canada, prepared from the sap of the sugar maple tree.-Preparation:...
in it. Men who had set the trap to capture animals for the zoo
Zoo
A zoological garden, zoological park, menagerie, or zoo is a facility in which animals are confined within enclosures, displayed to the public, and in which they may also be bred....
soon come. They take Johnny's bear to a zoo where Johnny can visit him anytime.
Freudian analysis of this book
In the Pulitzer PrizePulitzer Prize
The Pulitzer Prize is a U.S. award for achievements in newspaper and online journalism, literature and musical composition. It was established by American publisher Joseph Pulitzer and is administered by Columbia University in New York City...
-winning The Denial of Death
The Denial of Death
The Denial of Death is a work of psychology and philosophy written by Ernest Becker and published in 1973. It was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for General Non-Fiction in 1974, two months after the author's death...
, Ernest Becker
Ernest Becker
Ernest Becker was a cultural anthropologist and interdisciplinary scientific thinker and writer. He is noted for his 1974 Pulitzer Prize-winning book, The Denial of Death.-Early life:...
cited The Biggest Bear as an example of how the innate human fear can become manifested in literature.