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15 Most Famous Fictional Bears in Literature

It was until the 20^th Century that bears started appearing in animal fiction. Different writers represented the bears as wild, lovable, large, fluffy, dull, and adorable. Interestingly, some of the bears were depicted as talking animals in different works of literature. Despite their differences, they were all beloved characters who appeared to be very special and unique. Although most people look forward to the real-life bears of Alaska, they still easily relate to these bear’s characters from literature. Over the years they have continued to remain in our libraries and even in the bookshelves of most children. Today in this article we focus on some of the most well-known fictional bears in literature.

1. Winnie-the-Pooh

A jar full of winnie the pooh figurines. , , via Wikimedia Commons

Winnie-the-Pooh also known as Pooh Bear or Pooh was created by AA Milne. He named the character, Winnie-the-Pooh after his son鈥檚 teddy bear. The boy named his teddy bear 鈥淲innie鈥� after a black bear that was at the London Zoological Gardens. 鈥淧ooh鈥� was a swan his boy had met on holiday.

Winnie-the-Pooh first appeared in the book Winnie-The Pooh which was written by A.A. Milne and published in 1926. It was followed by The House at Pooh Corner published in 1928. A poem about the bear was also included in E.H. Shepherd’s children’s verse books When We Were Very Young and Now We Are Six.

Pooh bear is described as a lovable, kindhearted, and loyal bear who has very little brain. Pooh who seems to lose his self-control around honey takes us on a long adventure in the Hundred-Acre Woods.

2. Paddington Bear

Paddington, a classic character bear, was first created by Michael Bond in his 1958 book A Bear Called Paddington. Paddington is an adorable, selfless loving bear from Darkest Peru. His Aunt Lucy advised him to hide on the lifeboat of a ship for him to arrive in England. When he arrived, he was found by the human Brown family in Paddington Station which was later named after him. He was sitting on a suitcase which had a note saying ‘Please look after this bear.’ They ended up adopting him and the rest of the story follows Paddington’s adventures in England. He is iconic for wearing an old red hat, and duffle blue coat, and a lover of marmalade.

3. Rupert Bear

Rupert bear baloon. , , via Wikimedia Commons

He was first created as a comic book character by the English artist Mary Tourtel. He then appeared in the Daily Express newspaper in 1920 and his popularity grew from there. He continues to appear daily in the newspaper and every year since 1936, Rupert annual has always been released. Rupert is also featured in many books that have been written about his many adventures.

Rupert lives together with his parents in a house in Nutwood which is a fictional idyllic English village. He is a loyal, and caring bear who goes on a wild adventure with his animal friends. Rupert is famous for wearing a red jumper with yellow checked trousers and a matching scarf. Initially, he was portrayed as a brown bear but his color had to change to white to save on printing costs.

4. Baloo

Baloo first appears in Rudyard Kipling鈥檚 The Jungle Book, 1894, and The Second Jungle Book, 1895. He was named after 鈥楤halu鈥� after the Hindi word for bear. Baloo is a fictional character believed to be a sloth bear, who is a strict teacher of the cubs of a wolf pack. His most challenging student is the 鈥榤an-cub鈥� Mowgli who is taught the 鈥楲aw of the Jungle鈥� so that he can be able to save himself from Shere Khan the tiger. From 1893 to 1894, Kipling鈥檚 The Jungle Book stories were published in magazines.

5. Iorek Byrnison

A man riding a bear. , Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Iorek Byrnison is a male armored bear who appears in Philip Pullman鈥檚 His Dark Materials trio, which is a series of novels including Northern Lights (The Golden Compass in North America), The Subtle Knife, and The Amber Spyglass. This armored bear is saved by Lyra Belacqua from human enslavement. Iorek Byrnison stays as a loyal friend to Lyra, even giving Lyra her surname of Silvertongue. This fearsome warrior follows a very strict protocol and keeps his promises. He is known to have great strength, skilled in metalwork, brilliant, and a loyal comrade.

6. Aloysius

Aloysius first appeared in Evelyn Waugh鈥檚 novel Brideshead Revisited as Lord Sebastian Flyte鈥檚 teddy bear. Lord Sebastian is the younger son of Lord and Lady Marchmain. Sebastian has a very troubled relationship with his mother and this makes him truly unhappy that he turns to alcohol to numb his pain. Sebastian also carries his teddy bear Aloysius everywhere he goes, even though he is an adult he still speaks to the teddy bear and handles it like a human being. The bear is named after the Catholic saint Aloysius Gonzaga- the patron saint of youth.

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7. Old Bear

Jane Hissey wrote the Old Bear and Friends series of children’s books in 1986. She narrated in the story that a group of stuffed animals in a playroom remembered that the Old Bear had vanished a long time ago. The sweet and comforting animal toys started looking for him and realized he had been kept in the loft. They rescued him and brought him back to the playroom where he became the most respected toy who led the others in so many adventures. In 1990 the books received a BAFTA award and in 2003 a new Old Bear book called Splash was published.

8. Gentle Ben

Gentle Ben was written by Author Walt Morey, in 1965. The children’s novel introduces the friendship between Mark and a large male brown bear named Ben. Ben and Mark formed a strong bond that could not be easily destroyed by the people who wanted to disrupt their friendship. Walt wrote the book based on his own experience. The relationship between man and bears in the book originated from Alaskan people who interacted with bears in real life.

9. Corduroy Bear

It鈥檚 an awesome tale written by Don Freeman in 1968. The story is about an adorable teddy bear named Corduroy who is put for sale in a certain department store. One night after the store manager leaves, Corduroy climbs down to look for his missing button but fails to get back to his shelf by dawn. Eventually, he is bought by a girl named Lisa that morning. Lisa had used all her savings to purchase the teddy bear. When Corduroy realized that he had reached home he got really happy and for sure wanted to be friends with Lisa.

10. Little Bear

Little Bear is a series of children’s books written by Else Holmelund Minarik a young girl aged 4, and illustrated by Maurice Sendak. It involves the interactions between the mother bear and its little bear. When Else first wrote the book, she took it to an editor who advised her to change her characters to humans but Else refused stating that all children love bears and she got inspired after her mom took her to the Bronx Zoo several times. She finally published her book in 1957 with the help of Harper and Row.

11. Lars

Lars, a friendly polar bear stars in several books written by Dutch author, Hans de Beer. Lars lives with his parents in the North Pole and always gets into trouble. He is a really curious explorer who loves adventure a lot. He loves floating on sheets of ice as he discovers more new things. The franchise became famous when it was adapted into a television series in 1990, and was later brought back between 2001 and 2003.

12. Ted

Seth MacFarlane wrote about the sweet tale of a boy and his birthday wish for Christmas in 2012. The lonely boy wished that he could get a teddy bear that could come to life, and his dream was granted eventually by a shooting star. Three decades later the two are still best friends. The bear, however, was not on his good behavior despite him being brought to the world magically. The rude bear smokes cannabis, drinks beer, and parties a lot with prostitutes.

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13. Berenstain Bears

In 1962, Stan and Jan Berenstain created a fresh set of fictional bears in children’s literature. The set of bears included Papa Bear, who is a woodworker; Mama Bear, who is a committed homemaker; and their three children: Brother Bear who loves soccer and dinosaurs, Sister Bear who loves to jump rope, and Honey Bear. They all stayed in a treehouse down a sunny dirt road. The stories aim to teach kids family roles, relationships, and life lessons. Stan and Jan brought out a series of very famous books starting with The Big Honey Hunt. After Stan passed, Jan continued carrying their lovely characters with new stories like The Berenstain Bears Dinosaur Dig.

14. Harvey

In 2007, A Father鈥檚 Day Thank You children’s picture book was Written by Janet Nolan and illustrated by Kathi Ember. The book is about Harvey who is a bear cub that does not know what to gift his father for Father’s Day. All her siblings have ideas about what to gift their father but he is the only one left, until receiving all kinds of help from him comes up with a written appreciation.

15. Bear

Bear is Marian Engel’s famous fifth novel, published in 1976. It narrates the story of a companionless archivist who is dispatched to work in northern Ontario. She weirdly enters into a sexual relationship with a bear while working there. Although it has been “the most controversial novel in Canada,” it has managed to win the Governor General’s Literary Award in 1976.

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