AustLit
The material on this page is available to AustLit subscribers. If you are a subscriber or are from a subscribing organisation, please log in to gain full access. To explore options for subscribing to this unique teaching, research, and publishing resource for Australian culture and storytelling, please contact us or find out more.
Latest Issues
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
Works about this Work
-
Robert Ingpen and 'Imaginative Space': Tradition and Invention in The Idle Bear
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'
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
1990
single work
review
— Appears in: The Sun (Brisbane) , 9 August 1990; (p. 31)
— Review of The Idle Bear 1986 single work picture book -
The Idle Bear and the Age of Acorns
1989
single work
criticism
— Appears in: Magpies : Talking About Books for Children , July vol. 4 no. 3 1989; (p. 41) -
Untitled
1988
single work
review
— Appears in: Signal , January no. 55 1988; (p. 14pp)
— Review of The Idle Bear 1986 single work picture book
-
Untitled
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 1986 single work picture book -
Untitled
1986
single work
review
— Appears in: The Canberra Times , 7 December 1986;
— Review of The Idle Bear 1986 single work picture book -
Untitled
1988
single work
review
— Appears in: Signal , January no. 55 1988; (p. 14pp)
— Review of The Idle Bear 1986 single work picture book -
Treat for young readers
1990
single work
review
— Appears in: The Sun (Brisbane) , 9 August 1990; (p. 31)
— Review of The Idle Bear 1986 single work picture book -
Untitled
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 1986 single work picture book -
Truthfulness to Life : An Exploration of 'John Brown, Rose and the Midnight Cat' and 'The Idle Bear'
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
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
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).
Awards
- 1986 winner Hans Christian Andersen Award (Switzerland) — Illustrator
Last amended 3 Feb 2017 13:50:11
Export this record