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Summary
Summary
Every year the little town of Yellowtooth celebrates the New Year with a Blueberry Muffin Festival. But every year, the festivities come under a shadow cast by Irving and Muktuk, two polar bears whose badness is equaled only by their thick-headedness.
These bears are muffin-pilferers of the worst kind. Therefore, they have to contend with Officer Bunny, who is the law in Yellowtooth. Officer Bunny is wise in the ways of the North, and knows how to protect a muffin. As the years go by, Irving and Muktuk's muffin-getting schemes turn more and more devious, keeping Officer Bunny on his toes as he tries to figure out what to do with the crafty though dimwitted bears once and for all.
Author Notes
Author, illustrator, and radio commentator Daniel M. Pinkwater was born in Memphis Tennessee on November 15, 1941. He is trained as an artist and attended Bard College. In 1969, he wrote and illustrated his first book, The Terrible Roar. Since then he has written over 50 books for children, young adults, and adults. He is also a commentator on National Public Radio's All Things Considered and regularly reviews children's books on Weekend Edition Saturday. While he has illustrated many of his works, his most recent ones have been illustrated by his wife Jill Pinkwater.
(Bowker Author Biography)
Reviews (5)
School Library Journal Review
PreS-Gr 3-Think of this story as a children's version of Northern Exposure with a sweet tooth. Irving and Muktuk are two bumbling polar bears with a craving for blueberry muffins. It is New Year's Eve in the town of Yellowtooth, where the townsfolk arrive on dogsleds, snowshoes, and skis to celebrate the annual Blueberry Muffin Festival. Enter Officer Bunny, who is eager to uphold the law and protect the muffins from the two outlaw bears. Witty text mingles well with the comical illustrations done in felt-tip marker and ink. Children will laugh at the disguises used by these intruders trying to outwit the law. Cleverly written, this story would make a great read-aloud.-Karen J. Tannenbaum, Evansville Vanderburgh Public Library, IN (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Publisher's Weekly Review
Following up on their Larry books, in which the Pinkwaters chronicled a polar bear's hankering for blueberry muffins, Irving and Muktuk: Two Bad Bears by Daniel Pinkwater, illus. by Jill Pinkwater, showcases the town of Yellowtooth as it celebrates the New Year with a Blueberry Muffin Festival. Inevitably, shifty-eyed Irving and Muktuk sneak in, costumed as penguins, chefs or "extremely large, hairy blueberry muffins." Officer Bunny is finally driven to ship them to a zoo in Bayonne, N.J., "the muffin capital of the world." (Sept.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Horn Book Review
During a blueberry muffin festival in the frozen north, two bad polar bears try a variety of disguises and stratagems to get their paws on the muffins, only to be foiled by Officer Bunny. The colorful felt-tip marker and ink illustrations suit the story, which, while possessing some quirky charm, is poorly shaped and ends up falling flat. From HORN BOOK Spring 2002, (c) Copyright 2010. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Kirkus Review
The Pinkwaters are a hoot in all the best ways: odd but canny, droll but jazzy. Here they entertain readers with the cockamamie story of two polar bears trying to run a muffin swindle during a New Year's celebration in the far-north town of Yellowtooth. The bears, Irving and Muktuk-"two polar bears who are no better than they should be"-are a couple of hard cases when it comes to blueberry muffins. They'll run any scam to get their teeth into the goods at Yellowtooth's Blueberry Muffin Festival. It's Officer Bunny's job to thwart the ursine bores, and the bears make it easy for him. One year they pose as two orphan penguins, until Officer bunny remembers that penguins are from the far south. Another year they impersonate Girl Scouts, but their uniforms are not regulation, so they get bagged. Still another year they pretend to be famous chefs from Bayonne, New Jersey, come to judge the muffins, but their jackets are way too tight and the real chefs are located on an ice floe. Officer Bunny has had enough: He puts out a notice on the Internet that two bears are available and gets a response from Bayonne, where the zoo would be happy to have them. And the town is the muffin capital of the world to boot. Lucky bears. What a pleasurably eccentric story, open to very theatrical readings, and what wry illustrations-a combination, like time and money, that works. (Picture book. 4-8)
Booklist Review
Ages 4-8. A new Pinkwater book is cause for celebration. This one, centering on two polar bears "inclined toward stealing and subterfuge," has the right Pinkwater touch: zany action and witty wordplay from Daniel matched by Jill's funny marker-and-ink illustrations. Every year, the tiny town of Yellowtooth holds a New Year's Blueberry Muffin Festival. The bears plot to make off with the muffins, but Officer Bunny outsmarts them. Next year, Officer Bunny foils the bears again, and so it goes, till the bears' final caper when they dress as large, hairy blueberry muffins. This time the Internet is called on to find the furry felons a home--at a zoo in Bayonne, New Jersey. It's a happy ending for all: the tricksters are tricksters in gleeful fashion. --Connie Fletcher