Review by Booklist Review
Ages 2-5. The picture book crowd is often spellbound by stories of lost teddy bears, and this delightful book is just such a tale. Young Eddie retraces his steps in the scary forest in search of his teddy, Fredd~ie. But to his shock, he finds a gigantic stuffed bear, many times larger than his small bed. Soon he hears giant sobs coming from an enormous bear dis~tressed by the tiny size of his teddy. Upon meeting, bear and boy grab their rightful teddies; and each, just as fright~ened as the other, runs away. That night the teddies are tucked in bed along with their owners. The rhyming text accents the clever juxtaposition of large and small charac~ters and the dual points of view. The bright water~col~or paint~ings, includ~ing captivat~ing scenes of Eddie sitting on the leg of the giant teddy and the huge bear clutching the minus~cule teddy, aptly display the lush green forest setting, which spreads to the color~ful endpapers. Bear in mind that this is a solid choice for bedtime or story hour. ~--Deborah Abbott
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
Given its mistaken identities and characters meandering through the woods, this irresistible bedtime story is faintly reminiscent of certain Shakespearean comedies and the cartoonlike characters in Calvin and Hobbes. When little Eddie braves the ``dark and horrible'' woods to look for his lost teddy bear Freddie, he confuses a real bear's giant teddy with his own. ``How did you get to be this size?'' he asks. Elsewhere in the woods, the real bear is sobbing over Eddie's Freddie, thinking his own teddy bear has shrunk. Alborough ( Beaky ) cleverly plots the confrontation scene as the real bear ``stomps toward . . . the giant teddy and Eddie,'' and by book's end both real bear and Eddie are reassuringly tucked in their respective beds, ``huddled and cuddled with their own little teds.'' Alborough's verse adroitly employs kid-pleasing rhythms and repetitions, while his watercolor, crayon and pencil drawings underscore the broad comedy of this perfectly satisfying scenario of scary fun. Ages 3-up. (Aug.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Review by School Library Journal Review
PreS-- Oversized pages covered with tall, leafy green trees set the stage for and reinforce the mood of this farcical tale of lost teddies. Reminiscent of McCloskey's Blueberries for Sal (Viking, 1948), the story tells of the mix-up of two stuffed toys, one belonging to a small boy and the other to a giant bear. The rhyming text will keep readers turning pages, while their fear of the unknown and the ensuing visual absurdity will keep them riveted. Although the real bear looms ominously large at first, he becomes less of a threat once it becomes clear that his only concern is his own teddy and not the trembling boy. Children will be reassured to find that creatures big and small need their steady comforts. --Martha Topol, Northwestern Michigan College, Traverse City, MI (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Horn Book Review
Miniature editions of four picture books featuring bears all work well in the smaller size. As each book is appropriate for children of the same age, the package has more integrity than some gift sets intended for the Christmas-stocking market. From HORN BOOK 1993, (c) Copyright 2010. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Kirkus Book Review
Deftly rhymed and set on large double spreads dramatizing the size difference between its protagonists, an amusing variant on McCloskey's Blueberries for Sal. Tiny and wide-eyed, ``Eddie's off to find his teddy./Eddie's teddy's name is Freddie.'' Venturing among the forest's towering trees, he happens on a giant teddy bear; but now an enormous real bear arrives, cuddling Eddie's much smaller but otherwise identical teddy. Both Eddie and the bear turn tail and flee, and are last seen huddled in their own beds, each clutching his own teddy. The striking, expressive watercolors are just right for this satisfying, nicely symmetrical tale. A fine choice for lap or group. (Picture book. 2-7)
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
