Pre-Owned Teddy's World 9780971897502

With the same unique sensibility that gave us Play with Your Food, Joost Elffers and photographer Mirja de Vries bring bear lovers a new twist on old teddies--one that combines sentimentality with strong imagery of the secret world of bears. Each large page is a gloriously rich photo, some as stark as a single well-loved bear in black and white with the caption "The End of the Affair." Others are beautifully colored, with tapestries and clothing as important as the bears themselves. From camping to visiting museums to ear repair at a bear hospital, our fuzzy friends are shown enjoying lives to the fullest--entirely separate from their human companions. Children in particular will enjoy pages like Teddy in the bath, accompanied by a starkly typed note saying "at least it wasn't the washing machine. I wouldn't have survived that a second time." Most pictures have small captions, but a few pages are text-heavy, exploring the beginnings of teddy bears, bears in history, and their beloved roles at bedtime. For kids or collectors, Teddy's World will be a slightly mysterious, entertaining glimpse at what your bear gets up to when you leave the room. Didn't you already suspect it? --Jill Lightner