Synopsis
A young girl and Larry, the polar bear who lives in her father's hotel, enjoy each other's company and, on an outing to the zoo, they discover Larry's brother Roy.
School Library Journal
PreS-Gr 3The eccentric brilliance of the Pinkwaters shines brightly in this pair of books featuring Larry the polar bear. Young Larry and his brother Roy are a couple of regular cubs, with an absent father of whom they are nonetheless proud ("He found a dead whale one time, and ate the whole thing himself") and a typical polar bear mother ("One day, I will give you a hit in the head myself...and send you off to take care of yourselves"). When that day finally comes, Larry discovers that being a grown-up bear is downright boring. He curls up on the ice for a nap in Baffin Bay and wakes up in Bayonne, New Jersey. His taste for muffins leads him to a job as a lifeguard, and his rescue of a Mr. Martin Frobisher leads him to the sequel, At the Hotel Larry. There he resumes his lifeguarding career and is reunited with Roy during a visit to the zoo. Pinkwater's deadpan delivery deftly mixes these outrageous events with wry observations ("I am a wild polar bear myself....There is no other kind"), while remaining true to the animals' nature and raising this droll humor to hilarity. Pen-and-ink and marker illustrations in vivid tones extend Larry's character through expression, posture, and pose. Details such as the claw-based furniture of the Hotel Larry add visual dimension to the humor. At once both simple and sophisticated, these books have a fabulously quirky, memorable character whose exploits bear repeated readings.Starr LaTronica, Four County Library System, Vestal, NY