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My father obtained this book when he was a child. It was his favorite. He used to read it to us when we were children. I read it to my daughter and I cherish this book. It was magical and humorous. I quote lines from it in my every day life. This is a great book for children and adults.

LynnAnne Lewis

"Lazy Bear Lane! Well, that made my day. Now to decide whether to read it right away or save it for a rainy day. Won't mind waiting knowing that it'll be there when I'm ready."

-- Steve

Lazy Bear Lane

Thorne Smith

Read an excerpt (opens in a new tab)

Peter and Mary were old and forgotten. They lived in an equally old and forgotten house surrounded by sun-baked mud and old tin cans — a house so unappealing that field mice avoided it and all who passed quickly lose their appetites. And that's saying something. No magic could ever happen there. Peter and Mary were sure of that.

But in the brilliant and wondrous world created by renowned humorist, Thorne Smith, magic finally arrives. A large, nearsighted brown bear appears one evening and after sharing Peter's Catalogue Stew ("Just tear out some pages and toss in the pot!"), and listening to one of Peter's dreadful poems, Lazy Bear announces that he is a magic bear — extraordinily-ily-ily-ily magic. By the end of the evening, Peter and Mary, wrinkled and bent, leave their shabby old house and begin their travels down a winding country lane where they come upon all the lovely things they thought they lost. The things they used to know.

Peter and Mary quickly discover that they have grown down (the very opposite of growing up). They have grown down to the perfect ages of childhood when the marvels of a magical world can be embraced wholeheartedly — old enough to eat anything they wanted and to be able to stay up past eight and to go on adventures and things, but not old enough to have jobs or be burdened by other tiresome adult responsibilities. Along with friends like Mr. Budge and his magic basket, a sad circus clown, a bareback rider in a pink fluffy skirt, and twin cowardly lions (as lazy as the bear), they head off to nowhere in particular and everywhere in general
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Dedicated to Thorne Smith's two daughters, Lazy Bear Lane is filled with gentle magic, poetry, and delightful repartee. Tender and understanding, charming and humorous, the story succeeds in transporting children and adults alike to a make believe land where anything can happen.

For all readers seeking a children's classic long out of print and considered by some to be the holy grail of children's literature, look no further.

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