Teddy: The Remarkable Tale of a President, a Cartoonist, a Toymaker and a Bear

James Sage and Lisk Feng’s picture book, Teddy really is what the subtitle proclaims it to be: the remarkable tale of a president, a cartoonist, a toymaker, and a bear. Sage and Feng’s book is a blend of historical fact and imaginative fiction that tells the story of the creation of teddy bears in 1902—named in honour of Theodore “Teddy” Roosevelt, the President of the United States from 1901-1909. The cartoonist of the subtitle is Clifford Berryman, a newspaper cartoonist struggling with a block to his creativity. The toymaker is Rosie Michtom, a Brooklyn shopkeeper working alongside her husband. Then last, but certainly not least, is the small bear cub that Teddy Roosevelt refused to shoot one day when he was hunting in Mississippi while taking a break from his presidential duties. The “scruffy, no-account cub” escaped the hunter’s gun that day and subsequently was the inspiration for the creation of soft toy teddy bears that today are seemingly a staple of childhood in the western world. When Berryman heard the story of Roosevelt’s refusal to kill the cub, he memorialised the incident in a cartoon. Michtom then enjoyed seeing the cartoon in her local newspaper and created a toy bear in honour of her president. The teddy bears were an immediate and overwhelming hit.

As a book reviewer, I always appreciate seeing the end papers put to decorative and/or storytelling use beyond their merely functional use of binding together the book pages and the cover. In Teddy, the end papers feature an assortment of teddy bears. It is an attractive way to begin the book and to give a hint as to the material to follow.

Lisk Feng’s artwork features a contrasting colour palette with lots of oranges and greens. Although digitally created, the artwork is intended to reflect a turn-of-the previous-century art style. This lends an “old school” feel appropriately reflective of the time period being portrayed. However, with that style, the illustrations lack the detail and sophistication of much of today’s best picture book art. Likewise, in adhering to an “old fashioned” artistic style, there is a somewhat limited and muted use of color. These factors mean the artwork and overall visual appearance of the book are perhaps not likely to be of widespread appeal to today’s young readers. That said though, there is certainly much to admire in the illustrations. They are charming in their seeming simplicity.

Teddy ends with a two-page author’s note featuring a reproduction of the original Clifford Berryman newspaper cartoon, a photograph of an early teddy bear created circa 1903, and an early advertisement for a teddy bear. This extra illustrative and explanatory information is an excellent addition to the book.

Many young children will enjoy snuggling with their favourite teddy bears while listening to their parents or caregivers reading this book about the origins of the popular childhood companions. Readers young and old will be interested to learn this story and to learn of the various identities influential in the creation of the beloved childhood toys.