At the Hotel Larry

Larry the Polar Bear #2

by Daniel Pinkwater, Jill Pinkwater (Illustrator)

Larry the polar bear loves living at the Hotel Larry. He gets to spend time with his friends, and he has a great job as a lifeguard (although very few guests use the pool!). On his days off, Larry puts on his human disguise and goes out for blueberry pancakes with his best friend, Mildred. One day, after stuffing themselves with pancakes, Larry and Mildred decide to go to the zoo. And who should they find in the polar bear pen but Larry’s brother, Roy! Of course, Larry invites Roy and his two friends, Bear Number One and Bear Number Three, to come to dinner. But how do you entertain four wild polar bears?

Genres: Picture Books, Childrens, Fiction

32 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1997

About the author

Daniel Manus Pinkwater is an author of mostly children's books and is an occasional commentator on National Public Radio. He attended Bard College. Well-known books include Lizard Music, The Snarkout Boys and the Avocado of Death, Fat Men from Space, Borgel, and the picture book The Big Orange Splot. Pinkwater has also illustrated many of his books in the past, although for more recent works that task has passed to his wife Jill Pinkwater.

Reviews

[Abigail · Rating 3 out of 5]

Before the two Bad Bears, there was Larry, a polar bear who found his calling as a lifeguard in Bayonne, New Jersey. In this second hilarious book devoted to his adventures, our ursine hero is ensconced at the Hotel Larry, named in his honor by the millionaire whose life he saved in Young Larry . Now working at the hotel pool, where the guests have a tendency NOT to swim, Larry is reunited with his brother Roy, one of the polar bears at the Bayonne Zoo...

Narrated by young Mildred Frobisher, At the Hotel Larry has a few of those moments of pure Pinkwater genius, as when Larry informs his young friend: I am a wild polar bear myself....There is no other kind". Luckily, this wild polar bear has a taste for muffins, not people... With Daniel Pinkwater's quirky narrative and Jill Pinkwater's humorous illustrations, this entry in the series of picture books about Larry is a delight! There is even a hint of Irving and Muktuk in "Bear Number One" and "Bear Number Three."

[Phil J · Rating 3 out of 5]

Daniel Pinkwater goofed off a little on this one. You find out what happened to Roy the polar bear, but that's about it. It lacks the mock-heroic tone of Pinkwater's best work, and the situations are not ridiculous enough to be hilarious. Basically, this is nowhere near the greatness of Irving and Muktuk: Two Bad Bears, although there is one page where it looks like they get a cameo. Maybe Jill was working on the characters ahead of time.

Also, I love that Daniel and Jill dedicated this book to each other. Awwwww.

[Kelly · Rating 4 out of 5]

Larry is a polar bear who lives in the hotel of the man whose life he saved. One day, Larry goes to the zoo and sees his brother, and two other polar bears. They all go back to the hotel to eat with the man, his wife, and their daughter. Then they go for a swim in the hotel pool. The end.

Pinkwater+Larry the Polar Bear = weird. I don't know how else to describe it.

[Cheryl · Rating 2 out of 5]

Huh. I guess the Larry books came before the Irving and Muktuk books, as those two are not named here. Nor are there any muffins. Nor is this anywhere near as creative as Bongo Larry. The more I think about it, the more I think something is terribly missing from this, hence the low rating.

[Shannon · Rating 4 out of 5]

07/09: This was probably my favorite Larry book aside from "Ice Cream Larry." "Polar Bear One, Polar Bear Three, and Roy" (Larry's brother).

From Amazon: PreSchool-Grade 3.
The 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.

[Heidi-Marie · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was much more enjoyable to read knowing the background of Larry. Too bad Roy ended up in the zoo, but I guess he seems OK with it. This story was not text-heavy, though I'm still not sure I'd read it in a storytime. These books seem best for lap-reads.

[Tricia · Rating 3 out of 5]

hotel-living polar bear swims in the hotel pool with his zoo brother. may work with older kids but not storytime age.

[Matthew · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you read and enjoyed Young Larry as much as I did, then this book is worth the read for all the same reasons as the first.

[Tracy · Rating 3 out of 5]

I haven't read Larry the Polar Bear, but this is silly fun.