Review by Booklist Review
When Principal Fred can't find his stuffed toy teddy, he can't go to sleep, and he tears around the house yelling, I need Bear. Young kids will love the slapstick scenario of a school authority figure as helpless and desperate as children get when their beloved cuddly companions go missing. The text's rhythms and rhymes capture the family panic and uproar ( They dashed and they crashed / into bathrooms and halls ), while the striking acrylic and colored-pencil pictures, with the principal in pink-striped jammies, clutching his blankie and helped by his dog, show the satisfying reversal as the bossy adult falls apart.--Rochman, Hazel Copyright 2010 Booklist
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by School Library Journal Review
K-Gr 1-Tired Fred won't go to bed without his teddy bear, and that's a problem for his whole family. His wife and son join him in searching for the missing companion, but it is not until the man slips on a dirty sock the dog is chewing that Bear appears. The canine is rewarded with a big steak, Principal Fred goes to bed, and peace returns to the house. The principal acts like a two-year-old and has a tantrum because he can't find his teddy, but the setup is not really believable. The mixed-media illustrations are large and cartoonish, and might be appealing because of the simple lines and liberal use of white space. However, they do not stand out as particularly creative or engaging. This book might introduce discussion of bedtime issues, but the image of a principal as a silly, childish individual may be counterproductive.-Mary Hazelton, Elementary Schools in Warren & Waldoboro, ME (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
At bedtime Principal Fred discovers his teddy bear missing, so he and his family begin a frantic search. Most young readers never tire of seeing the home life of principals and teachers, and here they can both laugh at and identify with the authority figure's plight. Mixed-media acrylic and colored-pencil caricatures nail this supportive family's comical histrionics. (c) Copyright 2011. 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.
