THE BEARS UPSTAIRS

by Dorothy Haas ‧ RELEASE DATE: Oct. 16, 1978

Bears in Dr. Corrigan's 25th-floor apartment? Two talking bears who arrived by taxi bundled in human clothing? Actually it was Dr. Corrigan who rescued the bears from being fenced in on their native mountain, and who sent them to wait in the safety of his apartment until other bears from space could pick them up and fly them off to freedom on Ursa Major. But as Dr. Corrigan is still out West, it is Wendy from the 24th floor who helps them to find food, evade detection, fix the radio with which they communicate with the space bears, and generally survive until the final rooftop rescue. All of this involves more than a little dissemblance and gets her in trouble with her widowed mother, her school principal, and her friends, but it's worth it just to hear the beautiful bear music which lady bear Ursula Ma'am plays on her flute and wafts to Ursa Major via radio (""unauthorized broadcasting,"" the authorities call it). The bears also admire the music wafted upstairs from Mother's string quartet, and the violin part played by Mother's new friend, Mr. Quirk, makes Wendy realize that he can't be as crass and awful as he seems. The story isn't as rich as the music but the music is a nice touch, and Haas' down-to-earth handling of the outlandish notions makes for a satisfactory everyday fantasy.

Pub Date: Oct. 16, 1978

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: -

Publisher: Greenwillow

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 1978

Categories: FICTION