Author(s): Dino Buzzati

Junior Fiction | Humour | Adventure | Animals & Nature

A wonderful story for children and an allegory for adults about the absurdity of war with an introduction and guide to the text by Lemony Snicket.

Starving after a harsh winter, the bears descend from the mountains in search of food and invade the valley below, where they face fierce opposition from the army of the Grand Duke of Sicily. After many battles, scrapes and dangers, the bears' reign is established over the land, but their victory comes at a price.

Review: Out of Italy, which gave the world Pinocchio, has come a new and fine children's story, the kind that grown-ups borrow from kids * Time *
The Bears' Famous Invasion of Sicily is one of the noblest books I know. * Lemony Snicket *
Tongue-in-cheek humour enhanced by Buzzati's surreal illustrations will delight young readers with a taste for the bizarre * The School Librarian *
This moving story... is one that children of nine-plus will remember enjoying long after they have finished reading. A bonus is a quirky readers' companion. * Newbury Weekly News *
A beautifully presented book adorned with superb illustrations. * Parents in Touch *
Dino Buzzati's illustrations delight in the absurdity of the scenes he writes. * TLS *

Author Biography: The novelist, journalist and painter Dino Buzzati is one of the most important voices of twentieth-century Italian literature. He is best remembered today for his novel The Tartar Steppe and the story The Bears' Famous Invasion of Sicily, which he illustrated himself and has become a classic of Italian children's literature.