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Summary
Summary
With a little help from three meddling fairies, a young human baby falls under the care of three roly-poly teddy bears, Big Teddy, Middle Teddy, and Little Teddy.
The teddy bears are eager to care for their new charge, and with the best intentions and a lot of love, the bears set out to raise him, instructing him in the ways of teddy bears. Soon, the transition from boy to teddy is nearly complete. He sits on shelves and sleeps in cupboards. He is cuddly like a teddy. But one day, a knock on the door turns his teddy bear world upside down.
Illustrator Susan Varley's charming illustrations humorously depict the young boy's teddy bear antics in Jeanne Willis's gentle fairy tale that features a reassuring ending.
Reviews (2)
Horn Book Review
The fairies find a baby and bring him to their teddy bear friends, who raise him. He enjoys learning to walk and growl like a teddy bear and to sit on shelves and picnic in the woods. When the fairies eventually bring his (human) mother to him, he says he doesn't want to be a boy--until he learns that boys are allowed to have cuddles. Lighthearted illustrations accompany the odd, unsatisfying story. From HORN BOOK Spring 2003, (c) Copyright 2010. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Kirkus Review
The fairies are responsible, so this story of a boy who thought he was a teddy bear qualifies as a fairy tale-and a very charming one indeed. A baby boy is resting in his carriage in the woods-his mother is a short ways off picking flowers-when the fairies find him. They deliver him to their friends the teddy bears, who take him under their wings and raise him as a teddy. They name him Pinky Blinky Dinky because he was and did those things. He learned to walk and growl like a teddy, sit on shelves and sleep in cupboards, attend picnics in the wildwood, and became a first-class cuddler. Just when the bears are feeling that it's appropriate to tell Pinky Blinky Dinky the truth about his identity, the fairies usher the boy's mother to the teddy bears' house. Pinky Blinky Dinky's not sure he wants to be a little boy-"I want to hide in cupboards and go on picnics and play in the woods with my friends"-until his mother reassures him that little boys get to do just those things. Cuddle, too. In time to celebrate the 100-year birthday of the teddy bear, Willis's (The Truth or Something, p. 669, etc.) tale is an artful, deep reminder of how pleasurable it is for kids to have teddy in attendance, trucked around by the arm or leg, a steady, sturdy companion. Varley's pen-and-wash art has teddy's essential qualities: homey, disheveled, and warm. (Picture book. 3-6)
