1953 - The Biggest Bear

The sixteenth book to be awarded the Caldecott Medal was The Biggest Bear by Lynd Ward, published in 1952 by Houghton.

The Biggest Bear introduces us to Johnny Orchard, a young man growing up on a farm with his parents and his grandfather.  Every time Johnny walks to town to get a piece of maple sugar, he passes barns with big bearskins hanging on them and he's jealous.  It's not fair that the other men in town are able to get a bear but no one in Johnny's family has one.  So, the young man gathers up his shotgun and heads into the woods.  Of course, nothing goes as planned.

Who was Lynd Ward?

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Lynd Kendall Ward was born on June 26, 1905 in Chicago, Illinois to Harry F. Ward, a Methodist minister and the first national chairman of the ACLU, and Harriet May "Daisy" Kendall Ward.  He was the second of three children, he had an older brother, Gordon, and a younger sister, Muriel.

Not long after he was born, Ward developed tuberculosis.  His family moved to Sault Ste. Marie in Canada for a few months so he could recover before moving to Oak Park, Illinois.  He continued to suffer from symptoms throughout his childhood.

After his first grade teacher pointed out that Ward spelled backwards was "draw", Ward decided to become an artist. After completing grammar school in 1918, a year early, Ward and his family moved to Englewood, New Jersey.  He became the art editor for his school newspaper and yearbook while attending Englewood High School.  This was also where he learned the practice of linoleum-block printing.

After graduating with honors, Ward went on to study art at Columbia Teacher's College and while there, met May Young McNeer on a blind date.  After they graduated, Ward and McNeer married on June 11, 1928 and toured Europe for their honeymoon.

After four months of traveling, the couple settled in Leipzig, Germany where Ward studied etching, lithography, and wood engraving.

The Wards returned to the United States in 1927.  The following year, his first commissioned work was Dorothy Rowe's The Begging Deer: Stories of Japanese Children.  He went on to illustrate his wife's book Prince Bantam, published in 1929, Little Blacknose by Hildegarde Swift, and an illustrated edition of Oscar Wilde's poem Ballad of Reading Gaol.

After coming across Otto Nuckel's Destiny: A Novel in Pictures (Dover Fine Art, History of Art), a wordless novel, Ward was inspired to create his own and Gods' Man: A Novel in Woodcuts (Dover Fine Art, History of Art) was published in October 1929, the week before the Wall Street Crash.  He went on to do five more wordless novels: Madman's Drum (1930), Wild Pilgrimage (1932), Prelude to a Million Years (1933), Song Without Words (1936), and Vertigo (1937).  These books can still be purchased in collections:



Ward also worked in watercolor, oil, brush and ink, lithography, and mezzotint, in addition to his woodcuts.  He went on to illustrate over a hundred children's books and in 1932, Ward founded Equinox Cooperative Press.  He was a member of the Society of Illustrators, the Society of American Graphic Artists, and the National Academy of Design.  
Ward died on June 28, 1985 at his home in Reston,Virginia.

The Illustrations

Johnny Orchard lives on the farm closest to the woods with his parents and his grandfather.  His grandfather planted apple trees behind the barn, they're the only apple trees in the valley and they're called Orchard's orchard.
But Johnny has one embarrassment.  When he walks into town, he passes barns with bearskins nailed on the side to dry out.  It seemed like every man in town had shot a bear.

Mr. McClean had shot a bear every fall for three years.

But neither Johnny's father nor his grandfather had ever shot a bear.  And so Johnny grabbed his shotgun and went into the woods searching for his own bear.  But what he found was a friend.

Love, love LOVE these illustrations!  How cute are these pictures?

Unfortunately, Johnny learns that keeping a bear for a pet is not a very good idea.  He gets into the milk meant for the calves, the mash meant for the chickens, the apples in the orchard, and so much more.  And it only gets worse as he grows, this bear starts getting into the pantry, destroying the neighbor's corn, the bacon and ham in another neighbor's smokehouse, and the maple syrup collected by yet another neighbor.

A bear just does not make for a good pet.  Then the day comes when the neighbors go to Johnny's father to discuss the problem of Johnny's bear.

I love all the expressions in this illustration.  The anger from the neighbors, the confusion from the bear, and concern from Johnny.

Johnny and his father decide it is time to take his bear back to the woods.

Johnny took his bear deep into the forest and explained that he must go back to live with the other bears.

But, of course, the bear doesn't listen and returns home. Johnny takes him out into the woods again.  And again, the bear returns. 

Trying a different tactic, Johnny loads his bear into a boat and takes him out to a wooded island.

But when Johnny went outside the next morning to do his chores...

Johnny and his father talked again and they decided there was only one option.  

Johnny took his bear and his shotgun into the forest, but his hands shook so hard, he had trouble loading his gun.  Then his bear caught a scent.

The bear took off, dragging Johnny behind him, and didn't stop until he found the lump of maple sugar hanging in a large trap, causing the trap to close with him and Johnny inside.

A group of men come running and are surprised to find a young boy in their trap with a bear.  These men had set the trap to catch a bear for their zoo.  They are surprised at the size of Johnny's bear, he is bigger than they ever imagined, and the offer a safe home for him where Johnny can visit whenever he wants.

Which he does, often, and brings maple sugar to share.

The Biggest Bear is a sweet story that seems a bit dated by today's standards.  

I am not a hunter and no one in my immediate family hunts, but I live deep in hunting country and I have no problem with it.  However, I do know a lot of people who do not believe in hunting and would find this book, where the idea of a bearskin as a trophy, would be horrifying.

Nothing about this book offended or upset me, I found it charming and the illustrations delightful.  I love how Ward showed emotion, even human-like emotion on the face of the bear.  

Ward is known for his "wordless novels" and, judging from these illustrations, I can only imagine how amazing those books are.  I may have to check those out of the library next.

1953 Caldecott Honor Books
Puss in Boots illustrated by Marcia Brown, text translated from Charles Perrault by Marcia Brown

One Morning in Maine (Picture Puffins) by Robert McCloskey

Ape in a Cape: An Alphabet of Odd Animals by Fritz Eichenberg

The Storm Book illustrated by Margaret Bloy Graham, written by Charlotte Zolotow

Five Little Monkeys by Juliet Kepes