From Publishers Weekly
Humorous rhymes and an unusual conclusion combine in a boy's search for his stuffed toy in the forest in Where's My Teddy? by Jez Alborough, now available as a board book. Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc.


From School Library Journal
PreSchool-- 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, MICopyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc.


From Kirkus Reviews
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 ©1992, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.


Card catalog description
When a small boy named Eddie goes searching for his lost teddy in the dark woods, he comes across a gigantic bear with a similar problem.

FROM OUR EDITORS

Poor Freddy! He's lost his teddy, and he must go into the dark, scary woods to find him. But somebody big has lost his teddy too! What can Freddy do when he finds a big teddy? In a silly twist, toddlers get the message that being large doesn't mean being fearless.

ANNOTATION

When a small boy named Eddie goes searching for his lost teddy in the dark woods, he comes across a gigantic bear with a similar problem.

FROM THE PUBLISHER

Eddie's in for the surprise of his life when he discovers that his teddy bear has grown much too big to cuddle. But there's fun in store when Eddie meets up with a real bear who's got just the opposite problem--his lost teddy bear has shrunk to a size that's much too small for such an enormous bear to cuddle. Could it be a case of mistaken identity? Full color.

FROM THE CRITICS

Publishers Weekly

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.)

Publishers Weekly

Humorous rhymes and an unusual conclusion combine in a boy's search for his stuffed toy in the forest in Where's My Teddy? by Jez Alborough, now available as a board book.

School Library Journal