The First Teddy Bear
written by Helen Kay illustrated by Susan Detwiler
Stemmer House Publishers 1985, 2005
0-88-045154-8 (hardcover) 0-88-045153-X (paperback)
The story of President Theodore Roosevelt’s 1902 bear hunt, and how it inspired Morris Michtom of Brooklyn, New York to make the beloved toy.
buy "The First Teddy Bear" HERE
from School Library Journal ~ Rita S. Padden, Wenatchee Public Library, WA
“In 1902 while President Theodore Roosevelt was off on a five-day bear hunt, Morris Michtom was selling candy in his shop during the day and making stuffed toys at night. Roosevelt's bear hunt was unsuccessful until the fifth day, when the President could have shot a bear cub but refused. That occurrence prompted Michtom to make a stuffed Teddy Bear, and a tradition was born (along with the Ideal Toy Company, which he founded). The text is a little cutesy, but the illustrations (some in sepia and others full color) are properly old-fashioned, conveying the period. A bit of Americana on an ageless and appealing subject.”