291R: It’s so hard to say goodbye (Solved)

This was a children’s book that I read around age 5 or 6 around 1969. The main character is a bear who possibly befriends someone (a little boy?) and has to leave and say goodbye. All I remember is the ending is sad and it involves a bear and it made me cry and made my mother ask, “What’s wrong?’

6 thoughts on “291R: It’s so hard to say goodbye (Solved)

    1. Timothy Popanz

      Thank you! You’ve solved the mystery. It was “The Biggest Bear” by Lynd Ward. As I look at the book now, no wonder it made me cry. One of the reviews says, “not a book to be read by animal lovers or sensitive children.” That is certainly me.

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  1. lenona

    There’s Bernice Myers’ 1967 book “Not THIS Bear!” But that one’s funny, since it’s about a boy named Herman mistaken by a family of bears for their cousin Julius (because of his furry coat) so when he’s dragged off to their den, he has to prove he isn’t a bear. He does leave eventually – and there were sequels. More on it: http://www.loganberrybooks.com/solved-n.html

    There’s also “The Bear That Wasn’t” (see Solved Mysteries)
    http://www.loganberrybooks.com/solved-b.html
    by Frank Tashlin. Both sad and funny, but there’s no boy involved – only adults.

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