For some time now I've been wanting to write to the Bean Home Newsletter in defense of The Story of Freginald. In the Winter 1996 issue, Connie Arnold mentions in passing in her interesting article on females in the Freddy series that The Story of Freginald is her least favorite book in the series. That comment took me by surprise, as Freginald is one of my own favorites. Along with The Clockwork Twin (a title that Connie likes, but which she says that many Friends of Freddy loathe), I think that Freginald has the qualities that make the Freddy books so enjoyable and yet a plot that is unusual and different from the more formulaic plots used in so many of the other books.
I'm not so sure that I always felt this way. When I was a child I would go to the library every summer (and other times as well) to re-read all the Freddy books. I remember always checking out my limit of ten books that I would select from among whichever Freddy books were on the shelf at the time. I have a very vague idea that The Story of Freginald was not among my most favorites back then. Perhaps for the very reason that it did not follow the usual pattern of most of the Freddy books. Parenthetically, I also remember spending great amounts of time reading over the list of books that usually appeared at the front of the books, longing to see copies of To and Again, More To and Again, and, especially, Wiggins for President. For some reason I was fascinated by those original titles, and to this day I think those titles are more creative and interesting (along with The Clockwork Twin and The Story of Freginald) than most of the other "Freddy and " or "Freddy the " titles. In fact I consider the title Wiggins for President to be one of the great titles in American literature.
Now at the age of fifty-plus I have read each of the Freddy books many times over, often in chronological order as well as just dipping in and re-reading a single volume as the mood strikes me. I now enjoy re-reading Freginald not only because it contains all the humor, good writing style, and delightful characters and dialogue in common with the rest of the books, but because it surprises with the original plot and introduces some of Mr. Brooks' most memorable characters.
In any case, I thoroughly enjoy re-reading the story that begins, "There was once a bear named Louise " and points out to the reader that, "Most bears are named Ed or George or Bill or some regular name" to the end that tells us that "Freginald is still with the circus and is today one of the best-known bears in the business." And I recommend that you give it a try.