Loveable Lack: The Reimagined Wild of “Real” Bears
The image of the bear and its relationship to the human undergoes many representations in children’s literature. Their bodies range from cute and squishable teddy bears to non-fiction representations of wild bears. For example, the lone polar bear, a popular visual device for expressing the “slow vi...
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MDPI AG
2025-03-01
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| author | Elizabeth Ritsema |
| author_facet | Elizabeth Ritsema |
| author_sort | Elizabeth Ritsema |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | The image of the bear and its relationship to the human undergoes many representations in children’s literature. Their bodies range from cute and squishable teddy bears to non-fiction representations of wild bears. For example, the lone polar bear, a popular visual device for expressing the “slow violence” of climate change, coined by Rob Nixon in 2011. This gray area then invites one to consider how these two opposing states influence one another in the context of conversations around climate change. Given the widespread adoption of the polar bear as an emblem of climate change, this article addresses how polar bear imagery is translated into modern children’s literature when it often draws on cute aesthetics. Cuteness then calls into question how ‘real’ bears have been reimagined into fictional settings and whether relationships between child and bear can provide commentary on inspiring environmental activism. I explore Hannah Gold’s <i>The Last Bear</i> and its sequel, <i>Finding Bear</i>, as borderline ecopedagogical texts which highlight the tension created when a typically cute subject is used to encourage environmental activism amongst its younger readerships. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-99ce40d1cdfd41cdbef1826f510b9d48 |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 2076-0787 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-03-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Humanities |
| spelling | doaj-art-99ce40d1cdfd41cdbef1826f510b9d482025-08-20T03:43:27ZengMDPI AGHumanities2076-07872025-03-011436710.3390/h14030067Loveable Lack: The Reimagined Wild of “Real” BearsElizabeth Ritsema0Department of English, Royal Holloway University of London, Egham TW20 0EX, UKThe image of the bear and its relationship to the human undergoes many representations in children’s literature. Their bodies range from cute and squishable teddy bears to non-fiction representations of wild bears. For example, the lone polar bear, a popular visual device for expressing the “slow violence” of climate change, coined by Rob Nixon in 2011. This gray area then invites one to consider how these two opposing states influence one another in the context of conversations around climate change. Given the widespread adoption of the polar bear as an emblem of climate change, this article addresses how polar bear imagery is translated into modern children’s literature when it often draws on cute aesthetics. Cuteness then calls into question how ‘real’ bears have been reimagined into fictional settings and whether relationships between child and bear can provide commentary on inspiring environmental activism. I explore Hannah Gold’s <i>The Last Bear</i> and its sequel, <i>Finding Bear</i>, as borderline ecopedagogical texts which highlight the tension created when a typically cute subject is used to encourage environmental activism amongst its younger readerships.https://www.mdpi.com/2076-0787/14/3/67cute studiespolar bearschild agencyclimate change |
| spellingShingle | Elizabeth Ritsema Loveable Lack: The Reimagined Wild of “Real” Bears Humanities cute studies polar bears child agency climate change |
| title | Loveable Lack: The Reimagined Wild of “Real” Bears |
| title_full | Loveable Lack: The Reimagined Wild of “Real” Bears |
| title_fullStr | Loveable Lack: The Reimagined Wild of “Real” Bears |
| title_full_unstemmed | Loveable Lack: The Reimagined Wild of “Real” Bears |
| title_short | Loveable Lack: The Reimagined Wild of “Real” Bears |
| title_sort | loveable lack the reimagined wild of real bears |
| topic | cute studies polar bears child agency climate change |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-0787/14/3/67 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT elizabethritsema loveablelackthereimaginedwildofrealbears |