****The Teddy Bear

by David McPhail

Reviewed November 10, 2002.
A Sonderbooks' Best Book of 2002 (#5, New Picture Books)
Henry Holt and Company, New York, 2002.  32 pages.
Available at Sembach Library (E MCP)

Here’s a book that is poignant, sweet and sad.  It’s done with just the right light touch to bring tears to your eyes without seeming overly sentimental.

A teddy bear lives a happy life with a little boy.  He is much loved.

One day, the teddy bear gets lost.  An old homeless man finds him in a dumpster.  He brings the teddy bear on his rounds each day.  Once again the teddy bear feels loved.

The next Spring, the boy sees the teddy bear on a park bench.  What follows is a beautiful moment of wisdom and compassion.

I’m not sure if this book hits children as hard as it does adults.  My own eight-year-old said it was too sad.  I love it, and think it’s beautiful.