Here it is. Everything you wanted to know about the cartoon that started the teddy bear craze 100 years ago and more. Linda's research is incredible and her writing style is very warm and personal, sort of like teddy bears. The book is also packed with illustrations in both color and black and white. I especially liked reading the history of Berryman, and how the cartoon of Roosevelt saving the bear came to be, about the two cartoons depicting the famous event 100 years ago, and about how Roosevelt did not actually spare the life of the bear tied to a tree, just refused to allow it to be shot. Any arctophile worth his or her salt should have this book in their collection! Bravo on a fine volume, Linda!

As an adult collector of teddy bears, I have read many summaries regarding the 1902 Presidential bear hunting trip and the Clifford Berryman cartoon that began America's love with the newly created "teddy bear". Almost every book for adult collectors has some version of this story in its introduction. I found Linda Mullins' The Teddy Bear Men to be a superior and detailed account of the real story. Mullins wisely included the highlights from the November 1902 accounts from The Washington Post, which clearly recounted how and why a bear ended up being tied and presented to President Theodore Roosevelt for him to shoot. Washington Post cartoonist, Clifford Berryman, then portrayed this incident in a cartoon, which may be familiar to many collectors. The cartoon bear that evolved from this initial cartoon became Berryman's artist symbol ("dingbat") and linked the teddy bear (both the Berryman cartoon and the toy versions) to President Roosevelt's political career. This book is a well researched documentation of Clifford Berryman, Theodore Roosevelt, and of the significant contribution they made to the rise of the first teddy bears. It is presented in a reader friendly manner, with a well written text, short chapters, and many photos and drawings on each page. I found this book to be both intelligent and enjoyable.

This is a delightful story about a boy and his four bears at bedtime. The bears experience all the fears that children do including hearing noise outside, thinking there is a monster under the bed, that there is a boogey man in the closet, and being afraid of the dark. The little boy explains to them all why their fears are unnecessary (like a parent would) and comforts them. This book was so sweet! I wanted to cry!

This is such a wonderful book, not just for small children, but for anyone (young or old) who enjoys well written and illustrated books. I found this book at the library and my young daughter wouldn't let me return it for over a month. The illustrations are beautiful and really help to draw the readers attention to what is happening in the story. The story itself is a very calming story to read to your child, not just at bedtime, but anytime during the day when things are getting a little crazy. It is truly a book that encourages snuggle-time with your little ones.

Ken Yenke presents a wide variety of his own, personal vintage teddy bears. His format highlights the features of each bear and gives the quality and price range. What makes this book stand out are the history and anecdotes pertaining to each bear and the photos showing each in a unique setting. This is a great book for those who like to look at special teddies as well as a collector's tool for determining identification and values.

Ken Yenke has presented a wonderful assortment of antique/vintage bears for the new and advanced bear collector to admire. The information in this book serves as a great guideline to what enhances a bear and specific price ranges to help acquire bears. The pictures give collectors ideas on how to successfully incorporate their bears in charming scenes with accessories, especially in the home. I would recommend this book to anyone who has an interest in seeing and learning more about antique bears.

I discovered this book at our local library, and our four-year-old daughter loved listening to it so much that we actually purchased a copy. The everyday adventures of a young girl and her teddy bear, it manages to be engaging, sweet, and innocent, without being saccharine or cloying. My two and a half and eight year olds and my husband enjoyed it as well! We read a lot of books, and for a four year old, I would recommend this one above all others.

Deborah is a 5-6 yr. old girl living in England c. 1960 who adores her teddy bear, Teddy Robinson, and together they have fun adventures around the house or with friends. The writing is very graceful, using a delightful blend of fantasy and innocence but thankfully without gratuitous sugar-coated soppiness. The characters are all respectful of each other, have an excellent sense of humor, and are thoroughly endearing.

This book is a compilation taken largely from the books Dear Teddy Robinson and More About Teddy Robinson. I read them in 1970 when I was 6, living in England with my parents, and rediscovered them recently with my own children (boys aged 3 & 6). Each chapter is a delightful bedtime story.

My 2-year-old absolutely loves this book (it's his favorite Christmas book). In fact, we had to sneak it back in the Christmas things we packed away last year, or he would have read it all year long. He especially liked the pop-up aspect of the book. And with the action of removable envelopes and letters, your child will likely not become bored with it. But be careful, it's best that a parent reads the book with a young child because some of the pop-ups and letters are easily torn. (That's why I'm buying another - my son looked at it by himself and accidentally ruined it!).

This is my 6 year old's favorite Christmas story! The artwork is wonderful, & really fun. The story is nice for parents, because it is about Christmas giving, rather than receiving. I would broaden the age recommendation, because older kids would continue to enjoy the details. This book contains pop-up elements that a preschooler could easily ruin. I hope for more from this author.

I first encountered this book during story time at the library. My 3 year old fell in love with it so we checked it out. Much to my delight, our one year old loved it too so we all read it together (or sing it together). It's fun! The book is great for early math too ... How many are still in the bed? How many are on the floor? Are there the same number of bears on the bed as on the floor? Which has more?. We have read the book over and over again. Alas, the book is due back to the library tomorrow but we all liked it so much that I'm ordering one for add to our own library. Highly recommended! Happy reading!

This is a book I read to my son at night. It is very repetitive and easy for babies or toddlers. A great first read to introduce counting.

McPhail, David. Tinker and Tom and the Star Baby. New York: Little, Brown and Company, 1998. Zornado, Joseph. "Swaddling the Child in Children's Literature." Children's Literature Association Quarterly 22.3 (1997): 105-112.

Tinker and Tom and the Star Baby is a fantasy that takes the reader through an exciting adventure. One night, Tinker and Tom, a boy and a bear, can't get to sleep. They look out the window and see a star baby land in their backyard. Tinker and Tom decide that the Star Baby is lost and needs to find it's mother. Tinker and Tom venture into repairing the spaceship star baby arrived in, so that it can be sent home to it's mother. The fantastic element of the story creates excitement in the book. Many children dream about experiencing this fantastic element. Children only wish excitement, like the spaceship, would land in their backyard. The children grow up as adults never getting to experience these fantasies. Adult authors, such as David McPhail, write children's literature to relive their childhood fantasies. These authors are given the opportunity to explore a fantasy world they never experienced as a child. The fantasy created in Tinker and Tom and Star Baby allows McPhail to relive his childhood fantasies. In the article, "Swaddling the Child in Children's Literature," Joseph Zornado explores the concept that children's literature authors write to relive their childhood fantasies that they never got to experience. He proposes, " that children and adults all share the same pleasure" (105). This pleasure is experiencing a fantastic world. Children are given opportunities to explore this pleasure through pretend play, for example, but adults must forget about this pleasure. Zornado also says that children's literature is about finding what is "dead, buried and forgotten" in adults (105). David McPhail is an adult author who attempts to explore the fantasy world he never got to experience through Tinker and Tom and Star Baby. As Zornado states, McPhail is an author, who like other children's literature authors, chooses to relive his childhood through this story. The fantasy exists in the story in several ways. One way is through Tom, the bear, who lives with Tinker, the little boy. Tom can talk like a human and is Tinker's best friend. During childhood, many people pretend that animals can talk to them, and may even have an animal as their best friend. McPhail chooses to experience this element of fantasy through Tom. Another element of fantasy is found in Star Baby. Star Baby arrives by a spaceship. Star Baby cannot talk, but she does have magical powers. She has the power to make objects float around. In the book, Star Baby begins eating the cat's food. The cat starts to pounce on Star Baby, but Star Baby uses her magic and makes the cat float around the room by pointing at him. During childhood, many children fantasize about space. McPhail relives his childhood here through Star Baby. The last element of fantasy occurs with Tinker's father. The father hears all of the commotion occurring in the kitchen and comes downstairs to see what is happening. His father discovers Star Baby, but only stares and points at "it" in amazement. Star Baby points right back, causing Tinker's father begins to float back up the stairs, and does not bother Tinker and Tom for the rest of the night. This is the same fantastical element (Star Baby's magical powers) that occurred with Star Baby and the cat. Through the fantasy in the book, McPhail is able to revive the child that still lives in him. Children's literature is a means through which it's adult authors live through the world they never got to experience as a child. David McPhail is able to do this through Tinker and Tom and Star Baby because of the fantastic element written in the book.

This is a wonderful, whimsical book about a boy named Tinker, and his friend Tom, a very large bear. As they watch the stars one evening, they notice that one is falling to earth, right in their backyard! Tinker explains to Tom that it must be a "star baby" that has fallen and will need help getting back to its mother. The boy and the bear find the star baby, but also discover that the baby's star ship needs to be repaired before the star baby can return to its mother. Tinker and Tom decide to take the star ship and the baby inside, where Tinker proceeds to "fix" the star ship with things that he finds around the kitchen. Tinker almost gets himself into trouble when his dad wakes up, but the star baby takes care of him with its magical powers. Kids will enjoy seeing the things that Tinker uses to "fuel" up the star baby's space ship, and the way the baby takes care of the cat and the father. The illustrations are humorous and fun, and this is a great book that will be read over and over!

Al Santoli's book, To Bear Any Burden, is a narrative of stories told by 47 Americans, Vietnamese (both North and South), and Cambodians regarding their experiences before the US involvement, during the US war, and the war's aftermath (after the departure of US troops). Each tale (from two to 10 pages in length) is riveting in itself. The book moves in relative chronilogical order beginning in 1954 and concludes with the present (circa 1985). Each tale is successfully interwoven with the next story such that there is a cohesiveness and a logical flow to the story telling timeline.

Some of the stories are quite stunning: from the description of US soldiers being called baby-killers and spat on after they returned to the US [difficult to comprehend in this patriotic post 9/11 world] to the horror stories of the Communist regimes in Cambodia and in North/South Vietnam after the fall of Saigon [after reading theses stories, one should question why the US would want to establish ties to Vietnam].

This "straight from the hip" narrative is recommended to anyone wishing to learn more about the scenes from a participant's point of view.

I first read To Bear Any Burden when it was originally released in 1985. This has been a 'must-read' classic of American involvement in Southeast Asia since it was published. For it, Santoli interviewed, in depth, 47 individuals representative of that involvement from 1945 into the 1980s--Americans, Viet-Namese (communists and anti-communists), Cambodians and Laotians. The book is so artfully compiled as to flow like a single narration; yet the 'cast of characters' are separate in time, space, culture and social rank--an entire spectrum from ambassadors to villagers, soldiers to politicians, in one volume. No ones education about the Viet-Nam War is complete unless they've read this book.

My mom bought a Tommy Tottlebear book for my little brother. He likd it alot. I am ten almost eleven. I like Tommy too.

I loved the Tommy TottleBear book and look forward to seeing more Tommy books in the future. It was great to read a story with so many cute characters and great pictures. I also like that kids can color the Tommy books. thanks for carrying Tommy TottleBear books. Brittany

A shortened and less scientific version of the Craighead's classic study of the Yellowstone grizzlies. For any one who wants to know more about grizzlies, this book is a must!!!!

A very well written and entertaining book about the Criaghead's multi year study of the Grizzly Bears of the Yellowstone Eco system. The book while written by a Biologist, is very entertaining and an easy (light) read....not a scientific paper.

If you want to understand what Grizzly Bears are REALLY like,and want to understand this interesting animal- this is your book.

It's a great book to read if you visit the Yellowstone area and are somewhat "Bear-a-phobic" as a result of the sensational bear attack books. I was reading this book in Yellowstone this summer when I had my 1st bear incident in the 15 years I have been coming to the park. Armed with good information the "incident" became an interesting encounter with another one of YNP's great animals.

This is a book worth buying and keeping in your library.