Freddy's Teddy. (Tadpoles). Clare De Marco. Illustrated by Melanie Sharp. St. Catharines, ON: Crabtree, 2011. 24 pp., pbk. & hc., $7.95 (pbk.), $18.36 (RLB.). ISBN 978-0-7787-0588-8 (pbk.), ISBN 978-0-7787-0577-2 (RLB). Subject Headings: Teddy bears-Fiction. Sewing-Fiction. Preschool-grade 1 / Ages 4-6. Review by Trevor Lockhart. ** /4

excerpt:

Little Teddy had a rip.

"Oh no!" said Freddy.

"To the hospital," said Mom.

Freddy has a favourite teddy bear that, at the beginning of the story, gets an unfortunate rip. The rest of this simple story follows Freddy and his mom as they go about mending the teddy's rip. Freddy's Teddy is part of the "Tadpoles" series and is aimed at children just beginning to read. Freddy, himself, appears to be about five-years-old. The text is aimed at a beginning reader's level, and there is never more than one simple sentence every two pages. Before the story begins, the publishers provide a list of all the words used in the story. This list is broken into common words and words that are more specific to this story, eg. stuffing, hospital. At the end of the story, there is a puzzle page that can be used to review the steps Freddy's mom takes to repair the bear. There is also a page of notes for adults to provide guidance when reading with children. Melanie Sharp's bright illustrations really help bring this story to life.

Recommended.

Trevor Lockhart is a librarian at the Louis Riel Public Library in Winnipeg, MB.

To comment on this title or this review, send mail to cm@umanitoba.ca.

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Published by The Manitoba Library Association ISSN 1201-9364

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