From: Cathy Norman <csn71650>
Date: Tue, 03 Dec 2002 16:30:53 -0500

While I appreciate and even love the picture books that have been mentioned so far but my all time 2002 favorite picture book is David McPhail's THE TEDDY BEAR. This is a beautiful picture book about a much loved bear who changes hands inadvertantly during a sleepy stop at a restaurant. The teddy bear's new owner is a homeless man, and while the bear's environment is quite different from the home of the little boy with whom he used to live, the bear is "still loved" and that makes his adjustment to life in a pocket easier. The ending of this little gem is so wonderfully heart wrenching and real that my 14 year old son and I both wept the first time we read it on the back steps of the library. I have read this one out loud to sixth graders and first graders and everything in between and they all are touched by the artwork and the text. This one, in my opinion, does exactly what a Caldecott winner should do: the pictures and the text work seamlessly together to create a whole that is powerful and breathtaking.

Peace and Blessings, Cathy Norman, Youth Services Librarian Fairport Harbor Public Library 44054?91 csn71650 at hotmail.com
"I was normal once. I didn't like it."

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Received on Tue 03 Dec 2002 03:30:53 PM CST