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y separately published work icon The Idle Bear single work   picture book   children's  
Issue Details: First known date: 1986... 1986 The Idle Bear
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AbstractHistoryArchive Description

'What do teddy bears talk about when they are by themselves? And what's life like for a teddy when his owner has grown up and his growl is worn out?' (Source: Back cover)

Notes

  • Danish, Icelandic, editions available.
  • Also available as a sound recording.
  • Dedication: for Sarah Louise

Affiliation Notes

  • This work is affiliated with the AustLit subset Asian-Australian Children's Literature and Publishing because it has a Japanese translation.

Publication Details of Only Known VersionEarliest 2 Known Versions of

    • Melbourne, Victoria,: Lothian , 1986 .
      image of person or book cover 5108989295879500602.jpg
      This image has been sourced from online.
      Extent: 23p.
      Description: col. illus.
      Reprinted: 1987 , 1989 , 1988 (twice) , 1990
      ISBN: 0850912288
    • London,
      c
      England,
      c
      c
      United Kingdom (UK),
      c
      Western Europe, Europe,      :       Blackie ,       1986 .
      Extent: 32p.
      Edition info: miniature ed.
      Description: illus.
      ISBN: 0216920183
    • St. Catharines, Ontario,
      c
      Canada,
      c
      Americas,      :       Vanwell Pub. ,       1990 .
      Extent: 25p.
      Description: col. illus.
      ISBN: 1550680102
    • Manningtree, Essex,
      c
      England,
      c
      c
      United Kingdom (UK),
      c
      Western Europe, Europe,      :       Happy Cats Books ,       1999 .
      Extent: 32p.
      Description: col. illus.
      ISBN: 1899248781(pbk.)
Alternative title: Teddy Björn och Nalle
Language: Swedish
    • Stockholm,
      c
      Sweden,
      c
      Scandinavia, Western Europe, Europe,      :       Berghs ,       1987 .
      image of person or book cover 8159198474491738461.png
      This image has been sourced from online.
      Extent: 24p.
      Description: col. illus.
      ISBN: 9150208780
  • Appears in:
    y separately published work icon A Robert Ingpen Compendium Robert Ingpen , Port Melbourne : Lothian , 1999 Z1052522 1999 selected work picture book children's Port Melbourne : Lothian , 1999
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Related Works

y separately published work icon The Rare Bear Robert Ingpen , Robert Ingpen (illustrator), Melbourne : Lothian , 2004 Z1179480 2004 single work picture book children's
VIEW ALL RELATED WORKS (1)

Works about this Work

Robert Ingpen and 'Imaginative Space': Tradition and Invention in The Idle Bear Clare Bradford , 1991 single work criticism
— Appears in: Children's Literature Association Quarterly , Winter vol. 16 no. 4 1991; (p. 251-254) Bradford discusses The Idle Bear (Ingpen: 1986), with attention to what Robert Ingpen describes as the 'imaginative space' of children's picture books: 'To preserve the lively glow of juvenile imagination and fancy is the Art of Children's Literature. It is also the Art of Imaginative Space' (Ingpen in Bradford: 251). The expression 'imaginative space' refers to 'the traditions of fantasy and fantastic worlds' as well as 'works of literature and art which draw upon these traditions' and illuminate 'man's power to create and invent' (251). Bradford points out that Ingpen's concept of imaginative space refers to both 'the power of tradition and the revitalizing capacity of invention' and goes on to state that, 'The Idle Bear provides a fine example of the ways in which Robert Ingpen blends tradition and invention drawing on literary and artistic traditions to produce a work of marked freshness and originality' (251). The text reads as a philosophical 'exploration of ideas through order and logic' (252) and Bradford's critique highlights how intertextuality and the interplay between verbal text and visual image are used to comment upon old age and memory: 'The Idle Bear is one of those picture books which defies easy definition, for its meanings are embodied in the texture and narrative structure of words and pictures, and in the complex interactions which we perceive them' (254).
Truthfulness to Life : An Exploration of 'John Brown, Rose and the Midnight Cat' and 'The Idle Bear' Bev Croker , 1991 single work criticism
— Appears in: Reading Time : The Journal of the Children's Book Council of Australia , vol. 35 no. 4 1991; (p. 8-11)
Treat for young readers Kate Duryea , 1990 single work review
— Appears in: The Sun (Brisbane) , 9 August 1990; (p. 31)
— Review of The Idle Bear Robert Ingpen , 1986 single work picture book
The Idle Bear and the Age of Acorns H. M. Saxby , 1989 single work criticism
— Appears in: Magpies : Talking About Books for Children , July vol. 4 no. 3 1989; (p. 41)
Untitled Jane Doonan , 1988 single work review
— Appears in: Signal , January no. 55 1988; (p. 14pp)
— Review of The Idle Bear Robert Ingpen , 1986 single work picture book
Untitled Carolyn F. Logan , 1986 single work review
— Appears in: Magpies : Talking About Books for Children , March vol. 1 no. 1 1986; (p. 21)
— Review of The Idle Bear Robert Ingpen , 1986 single work picture book
Untitled Laurie Copping , 1986 single work review
— Appears in: The Canberra Times , 7 December 1986;
— Review of The Idle Bear Robert Ingpen , 1986 single work picture book
Untitled Jane Doonan , 1988 single work review
— Appears in: Signal , January no. 55 1988; (p. 14pp)
— Review of The Idle Bear Robert Ingpen , 1986 single work picture book
Treat for young readers Kate Duryea , 1990 single work review
— Appears in: The Sun (Brisbane) , 9 August 1990; (p. 31)
— Review of The Idle Bear Robert Ingpen , 1986 single work picture book
Untitled Belle Y. Alderman , 1987 single work review
— Appears in: Reading Time : The Journal of the Children's Book Council of Australia , vol. 31 no. 1 1987; (p. 29-30)
— Review of The Idle Bear Robert Ingpen , 1986 single work picture book
Truthfulness to Life : An Exploration of 'John Brown, Rose and the Midnight Cat' and 'The Idle Bear' Bev Croker , 1991 single work criticism
— Appears in: Reading Time : The Journal of the Children's Book Council of Australia , vol. 35 no. 4 1991; (p. 8-11)
The Idle Bear and the Age of Acorns H. M. Saxby , 1989 single work criticism
— Appears in: Magpies : Talking About Books for Children , July vol. 4 no. 3 1989; (p. 41)
Robert Ingpen and 'Imaginative Space': Tradition and Invention in The Idle Bear Clare Bradford , 1991 single work criticism
— Appears in: Children's Literature Association Quarterly , Winter vol. 16 no. 4 1991; (p. 251-254) Bradford discusses The Idle Bear (Ingpen: 1986), with attention to what Robert Ingpen describes as the 'imaginative space' of children's picture books: 'To preserve the lively glow of juvenile imagination and fancy is the Art of Children's Literature. It is also the Art of Imaginative Space' (Ingpen in Bradford: 251). The expression 'imaginative space' refers to 'the traditions of fantasy and fantastic worlds' as well as 'works of literature and art which draw upon these traditions' and illuminate 'man's power to create and invent' (251). Bradford points out that Ingpen's concept of imaginative space refers to both 'the power of tradition and the revitalizing capacity of invention' and goes on to state that, 'The Idle Bear provides a fine example of the ways in which Robert Ingpen blends tradition and invention drawing on literary and artistic traditions to produce a work of marked freshness and originality' (251). The text reads as a philosophical 'exploration of ideas through order and logic' (252) and Bradford's critique highlights how intertextuality and the interplay between verbal text and visual image are used to comment upon old age and memory: 'The Idle Bear is one of those picture books which defies easy definition, for its meanings are embodied in the texture and narrative structure of words and pictures, and in the complex interactions which we perceive them' (254).
VIEW ALL WORKS ABOUT (8)

Awards

VIEW ALL AWARDS (1)
Last amended 3 Feb 2017 13:50:11
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