00006498

This book tells the story of Rose and Morris Michtom and their creation of the very first teddy bear. They were inspired by a Washington Post cartoon depicting a hunting adventure that President Theodore Roosevelt had gone on, during which he had demanded that a bear (who had been captured and tied to a tree for the president to shoot) be released and given his freedom. The couple even wrote to the president, seeking his permission to use his name for their toy bear: Teddy's Bear.

A good example of legend because it takes an historical event, based on a real person, that has been altered, stretched, and exaggerated over time. The story of President Roosevelt hunting and releasing the bear from the tether it was trapped with is probably historically present, but the details have become muddled. This legend is what drove Theodore to the nickname Teddy and for an elderly couple to come up with stuffed bears called Teddy's Bears. This story has an interesting plot because it contains multiple plots in one book. There is the whole story of the President hunting, being told that his friends have caught a bear, and letting the bear go free. But there is another train of events that stem off of this occurrence. After getting the nickname Teddy, a couple in New York decide to make bears more friendly by creating a stuffed toy bear and naming it after the kindness of the president. After selling a couple of these stuffed bears in their candy store, they sent one to the president to get permission to use his name, waited patiently, and eventually received a reply. And that is how the teddy bear was born.

Media: oil pastels