Even this CBC video of Robert performing the Paper Bag Princess doesn't really do justice to how he fills a room when he performs one of his stories. I am one of the lucky people who grew up in an...
Exemplary
Even this CBC video of Robert performing the Paper Bag Princess doesn't really do justice to how he fills a room when he performs one of his stories. I am one of the lucky people who grew up in an area where Robert would come to our schools and perform for us; I experienced it several times, and sometimes he even told stories that he never published, like "The Fart" which was maybe the funniest story I had ever heard when I heard him tell it back in the 80s when I was young. And he got the whole school involved in Mortimer Be Quiet, and it was one of the best moments of elementary school, better than snowshoeing, better than the sugar bush, better than anything else I can remember.
Later on, Robert lived in the same neighbourhood as me, and he would frequently walk up the CNR Spurline Trail, which was right next to my house. He always had a sparkle in his eyes, and he would stop and chat with anyone, especially if there were children. A few times when they were small, my kids asked "who was that man you talked to" and I got to tell them that that really was the real Robert Munsch, who really wrote the books that we sometimes read. And I did my best to try to bring those stories to life, like he had done a dozen times for me. I'm a pale imitation, but I try.
I'll Love You Forever, Mr. Munsch. You were one of the people that shaped how I grew up and the person I became, like Mr. Dressup, Raffi, or Fred Penner. You always had time to try to make the kids around you laugh, and the joy that you put into storytelling was incredible.
I found an official post from Julie Munsch that explains the situation in more detail. source on facebook and I'll transcribe it here:
I found an official post from Julie Munsch that explains the situation in more detail. source on facebook and I'll transcribe it here:
Message from Julie Munsch
My father IS NOT DYING!!!
Thanks to everyone and their well wishes, however, my father’s choice to use MAID was in fact made 5 years ago, this is not new news and it was discussed in an interview with the CBC in 2021.
My dad is doing well but of course with a degenerative disease it can begin to progress quickly at any point.
The New York Times article is a great interview with my dad and nowhere does it say my dad isn’t doing well, nor that he’s going to die anytime soon!
We had all the Robert Munsch book tapes growing up. If anyone has never heard him tell his stories but has only read them -- I implore you to seek them out, he is a masterclass children's...
We had all the Robert Munsch book tapes growing up. If anyone has never heard him tell his stories but has only read them -- I implore you to seek them out, he is a masterclass children's storyteller. His inflections and pacing for those stories are so burned into my core memory that I also can't help but try and imitate them to my kids.
Here’s a tragedy that will resonate with any Canadian who has ever read a children’s book. Munsch was, of course, the author of The Paper Bag Princess and Mortimer, among others. He has been...
Here’s a tragedy that will resonate with any Canadian who has ever read a children’s book. Munsch was, of course, the author of The Paper Bag Princess and Mortimer, among others.
He has been diagnosed with dementia, and has opted to die while he still has some of his faculties intact — one of the slightly more controversial applications of MAID, where death is foreseeable but not particularly imminent.
To him, death is imminent. You might have still seen his body walking around for a while, but it wouldn't have been much of what made him "him." My grandmother's body lived for ten years during...
To him, death is imminent. You might have still seen his body walking around for a while, but it wouldn't have been much of what made him "him." My grandmother's body lived for ten years during which she didn't recognize anyone or speak. She bit a few nurses, which was very much in line with the woman she had been, but that wasn't really her. I am so, so glad that Mr. Munsch is in a place and state of mind where he can still make the choice to die with dignity.
This man and the Bernstein Bears were my childhood. I have nothing but nostalgic joy for his books. I am sad that he was hit with dementia, but I am glad he can choose to die with dignity.
This man and the Bernstein Bears were my childhood. I have nothing but nostalgic joy for his books. I am sad that he was hit with dementia, but I am glad he can choose to die with dignity.
I was reading Thomas' Snowsuit to my son the other day. He's only 14 months, so he's still just learning his first words, but I knew immediately that my wife has been reading this book with him a...
I was reading Thomas' Snowsuit to my son the other day. He's only 14 months, so he's still just learning his first words, but I knew immediately that my wife has been reading this book with him a lot. Why? When we got to Thomas' first "Nooo!" my son said it in unison with me (holding it for a long time just like it's written in the book). I was totally surprised, but it was so adorable and heartwarming that he already knows the story a little bit.
Even this CBC video of Robert performing the Paper Bag Princess doesn't really do justice to how he fills a room when he performs one of his stories. I am one of the lucky people who grew up in an area where Robert would come to our schools and perform for us; I experienced it several times, and sometimes he even told stories that he never published, like "The Fart" which was maybe the funniest story I had ever heard when I heard him tell it back in the 80s when I was young. And he got the whole school involved in Mortimer Be Quiet, and it was one of the best moments of elementary school, better than snowshoeing, better than the sugar bush, better than anything else I can remember.
Later on, Robert lived in the same neighbourhood as me, and he would frequently walk up the CNR Spurline Trail, which was right next to my house. He always had a sparkle in his eyes, and he would stop and chat with anyone, especially if there were children. A few times when they were small, my kids asked "who was that man you talked to" and I got to tell them that that really was the real Robert Munsch, who really wrote the books that we sometimes read. And I did my best to try to bring those stories to life, like he had done a dozen times for me. I'm a pale imitation, but I try.
I'll Love You Forever, Mr. Munsch. You were one of the people that shaped how I grew up and the person I became, like Mr. Dressup, Raffi, or Fred Penner. You always had time to try to make the kids around you laugh, and the joy that you put into storytelling was incredible.
I found an official post from Julie Munsch that explains the situation in more detail. source on facebook and I'll transcribe it here:
We had all the Robert Munsch book tapes growing up. If anyone has never heard him tell his stories but has only read them -- I implore you to seek them out, he is a masterclass children's storyteller. His inflections and pacing for those stories are so burned into my core memory that I also can't help but try and imitate them to my kids.
Here’s a tragedy that will resonate with any Canadian who has ever read a children’s book. Munsch was, of course, the author of The Paper Bag Princess and Mortimer, among others.
He has been diagnosed with dementia, and has opted to die while he still has some of his faculties intact — one of the slightly more controversial applications of MAID, where death is foreseeable but not particularly imminent.
To him, death is imminent. You might have still seen his body walking around for a while, but it wouldn't have been much of what made him "him." My grandmother's body lived for ten years during which she didn't recognize anyone or speak. She bit a few nurses, which was very much in line with the woman she had been, but that wasn't really her. I am so, so glad that Mr. Munsch is in a place and state of mind where he can still make the choice to die with dignity.
So hard, but I fully understand why he'd do it. We're enjoying a trip down memory lane reading his books to our daughter. This is difficult news.
I've enjoyed many of his stories. I am very sad to hear. May the rest of his journey be kind to him, and I wish him the best for what's next.
This man and the Bernstein Bears were my childhood. I have nothing but nostalgic joy for his books. I am sad that he was hit with dementia, but I am glad he can choose to die with dignity.
It’s “Berenstain Bears” but you aren’t the only one spelling it wrong.
Or… are you? Or are you an unwitting visitor from an alternate reality?
I think my phone autocorrected it? Either way, I love that conspiracy theory. I feel like John Oliver did a thing on it once?
I was reading Thomas' Snowsuit to my son the other day. He's only 14 months, so he's still just learning his first words, but I knew immediately that my wife has been reading this book with him a lot. Why? When we got to Thomas' first "Nooo!" my son said it in unison with me (holding it for a long time just like it's written in the book). I was totally surprised, but it was so adorable and heartwarming that he already knows the story a little bit.