The Fool & the Dancing Bear

by Pamela Stearns

A lovesick king, his court jester, and a bear embark on a quest to lift the curse of a spiteful queen.

Genres: Fantasy, Childrens

165 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1979

Reviews

[Cheryl · Rating 3 out of 5]

I dunno. I possibly would have loved it when I was a girl half a century ago. Now, it just seems like I'm missing something. It's a little too light... or else there's a depth I can't quite glimpse. The silly escapades, the Bear with secrets, the lovesick King, the wise fool, the Queen who isn't so evil after all. And the ironically named Green Hills, and the clairvoyant April Flower, and the avaricious & evil Minister Vos... all will appeal to, and stick in the memory of, some readers. Not so much me, though.

There is one unfortunate bit. The barbarian bandits, the Turmaks, are drawn as if by someone unconsciously racist of people related to Mongolians or Turks or Arabs. It's probably such a messed-up image it'll pass right by children who know better than to judge based on stereotypes, but it did make me wince.

[Mlmoore · Rating 5 out of 5]

I owned this book when I was a child and I loved everything about it. I don't know what became of the book, but I have been searching for another edition of it that I can purchase. In my estimation, it is a must-read for any child. Reading fuels the imagination and imagination is what inventors use to create machines that make our lives better.

[Krysta · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was looking for a quick children's fantasy read and decided to pick this one up. It was overall enjoyable and had a satisfactory ending but the writing was a little difficult for me to get into. It just didn't grab me with the inherent "charm" that say a book by M.M. Kaye or C.S. Lewis does. What I will give the author credit for is the dialogue. There is more dark sarcasm and witty banter than I was expecting for junior fiction and some of the exchanges were quite amusing. I was also impressed with the vocabulary. Perhaps I'm out of touch, but I'm fairly certain children nowadays don't have words like "reticent", "tintinnabulation", and "insidious" in their vocabulary. I rather wish they did - and reading more books like this would probably help. A nice read, particularly for the exchanges between the fool and the bear.

[Grant · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was introduced to Stearns as a young child and have fond memories listening to Painted Bear Lair. Searching for a good read-aloud, I looked up Stearns again and found several other titles, including Fool and the Dancing Bear. like her other books, Stearns provides a well written tale or both friendship and ethical paradox. Her story is mature and provides opportunity for conversation and learning but still captures the imaginative attention of young readers. I appreciate her voice and vocabulary as she weaves adventures for the reader. Stearns' books are rare gems!

[Bonnie · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a good book. It's not an easy one to summarize. It has evil wizards, spells, curses, talking bears, and is just a good yarn. The plot got a bit confusing at spots, but, overall, it was a quick good read.

[Michelle Marie · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was my family's second read-a-chapter-a-day book. It took a different turn then I was expecting but I really enjoyed it. The title is so mythical, it intrigues me. And the story is very magical but in a real life sort of way.
Loved the characters!

[Chrisanne · Rating 5 out of 5]

A gem! Stearns creates a delightful and original world, full of humor and heart-ache.