‘If You Give a Bear a Bong’ is a Children’s Book for Former Children

If you’ve ever thought about getting high with a bear, you should definitely read Sam Miserendino’s parody, If You Give A Bear A Bong. In fact, you should probably read it even if you’ve never been tempted to share a bong with a bear, because the bud-loving bear in Sam’s book will, no doubt, remind you of someone you know. Maybe even someone you know really, really well (think person in the mirror).

A Children’s Book for Former Children

If You Give A Bear A Bong is a heartwarming, cautionary tale about the dangers of mixing weed and wildlife. It tells the story of a bear who’s had one hit too many and follows him as he experiences the highs and lows of being high — from feeling as though he’s floating like a feather to not being able to move because he’s couch-locked.

If You Give A Bear A Bong is the second installment in Sam Miserendino’s
Addicted Animal series, following the first book, If You Give A Bunny A Beer. The inspiration for the books struck when Sam was reading stories about carb-addicted moose, mice and pigs to his children for the millionth time. In the delirium of mind-numbing repetition, it occurred to him that it would be much more fun, and funnier, if the animals that populated children’s books were treated to something with more kick than the usual carb-based treats. Sam teamed up with illustrator Mike Odum to create If You Give A Bunny A Beer. The work was initially published by Creator’s Edge Press, an indie publisher based in Seattle, and quickly became the best-selling book in their history.

While designing the back cover of If You Give A Bunny A Beer, Sam and Mike decided that they did not want their beer-addled bunny to feel lonely. In the brainstorming session that followed, they came up with other animals with alliterative addictions. Mike illustrated covers for books that existed only in Sam’s imagination, including If You Give A Bear A Bong, and they were placed on the back cover of their bunny book.

If You Give a Pothead a Preview

… They’ll want more. From the response to the back cover of their bunny book, Sam and Mike quickly learned that the one thing people want more than a beer-drinking bunny is a bong-smoking bear. They were flooded with requests for a book that did not exist.

It was not only readers of If You Give A Bunny A Beer who wanted to see If You Give A Bear A Bong come to life, but publishers as well. The success of Bunny enabled Sam to get an agent who began shopping the book to major publishers. When Sam’s agent pitched If You Give A Bunny A Beer to Skyhorse Publishing, they wanted to pick it up, but they wanted the book about the bong-smoking bear as well.

So what started as a joke on the back cover of a parody book is now in bookstores around the world. If you’re a cannabis enthusiast looking for a hilarious book that captures the fun and folly of being high, check out If You Give A Bear A Bong. It’s available from Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Indigo/Chapters in Canada and everywhere else books are sold.

Sam Miserendino is an attorney by day, author by night and father 24/7.
While Sam has been patiently waiting to be awarded the Nobel prize in literature for his pioneering works about addicted animals, he has written two more books in the series – If You Give A Kitty A Cocktail, which is scheduled to be released in early 2020, and If You Give A Dog A Doobie, which is slated for release in Fall 2020.

For more information about the book and to find out where Sam will be appearing for book signings, you can visit the “If You Give A Bear A Bong” Facebook page.