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TEDDY’S SNOWY DAY by Ian Beck

TEDDY’S SNOWY DAY

by Ian Beck & illustrated by Ian Beck

Pub Date: Oct. 1st, 2002
ISBN: 0-439-17520-8
Publisher: Scholastic

In this sequel to his previous story about a little girl named Lily and her bear named Teddy (Home Before Dark, not reviewed), Beck again follows a basic teddy bear lost-and-found plot line. On Christmas Eve day, Lily goes off to play outside, and Teddy, left behind for safekeeping, falls off a windowsill into the snowy outside world. He explores on his own, snowboarding on a spare plank, building a snowbear, and sliding on a frozen pond until, as night falls, he realizes he is lost. To the rescue come a kind voice and a strong pair of arms clad in red with white fur cuffs and red mittens. Teddy is delivered by “a whizzing sleigh” back to Lily, who doesn’t seem to notice that her bear was missing. Together, girl and bear wait for the magic of Christmas Eve, with the special connection to Santa shown with a stream of starlight flowing down to Lily’s window. Younger preschoolers will like the implied secret of the rescue by Santa, and the simple plot will work well for toddlers who are just moving into real stories. The snowboarding sequence (also shown on the cover) will attract children who are interested in that winter sport, and Beck’s charming teddy bear is an appealing character who seems destined for further episodes of getting lost. (Picture book. 2-5)