Peef: The Christmas Bear [Hardcover]

Tom Hegg (Author), Warren Hanson (Illustrator)

Book Description

Age Level: 4 and up | Grade Level: P and up

A Christmas teddy bear made by Santa comes to life and yearns to belong and bring happiness to one small child.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

This treacly holiday tale from the creators of A Cup of Christmas Tea tries hard to push all the right buttons, but might not manage to elicit more than a yawn. With a little help from the elves, Santa stitches up a new toy: "A scrap of blue... a seam of pink... some green, some red, some brown.../ Why, every color that there was was running up and down/ The front and sides and underneath of what was forming there-/ A Santa-hand-made masterpiece... a brand new Christmas bear!" The patchwork bear yearns to belong to a child, but Santa is reluctant to part with him; readers who wade through the dense thickets of overwrought verse will not be surprised by the inevitable moment of sacrifice. Full of fervid purples, the artwork matches the text in its triteness. All ages. 50,000-copy first printing.
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.

About the Author

Tom Hegg is a husband, father, grandfather, teacher, actor and writer. He has touched countless lives with his New York Times bestselling title, A Cup of Christmas Tea, and his series of books about PEEF The Christmas Bear. Tom is a drama teacher at Breck School in Minneapolis where he holds the rank of Master Teacher. He trained at Carnegie Mellon and performed for many magical seasons at the Guthrie Theater in Minneapolis. Tom and his wife Peggy live in Eden Prairie, Minnesota.

Author and illustrator, public speaker and musician, Warren Hanson has his name on several currently available books, including two he wrote and illustrated: The Next Place (1997; over 250,000 sold); Older Love (1999; nearly 20,000 sold); and six that he illustrated: A Cup of Christmas Tea (1982; 1.5 million sold); A Memory of Christmas Tea (1999; over 110,000 sold); Mark of the Maker (1991; over 50,000 sold); PEEF The Christmas Bear (1995; 240,000 sold); A Silent Night for PEEF (1998; 65,000 sold); Reading With Dad (2000; 12,000 sold).

On his business card, right under Warren Hanson’s name, it says “illustrator, author, amateur.” As an amateur, he goes back to the word’s Latin root, which means “someone who does something purely for the love of doing it. “ Warren Hanson love what he does. And it shows.

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 4 and up
  
• Hardcover: 48 pages
• Publisher: Waldman House Pr (September 1995)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0931674263
• ISBN-13: 978-0931674266
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 11.2 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (25 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #199,754 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

18 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Christmas story for ages 3 - 99, November 30, 1999

By 

C. Van Hook "Iowa Teacher Librarian" (Altoona, Iowa USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Peef: The Christmas Bear (Hardcover)

I had the honor of reading Christmas books to children at the Festival of Trees and Lights in Des Moines, Iowa, to kick off this Christmas season. The children selected Peef: The Christmas Bear for me to read. I had never read this story before. What a tender story! The children were so attentive! By the time I reached the last two pages, I was not sure I could finish the story! I was quite teary eyed! I continued to read it to other childrne throughout the evening. We had the bear to hold during the story. Guess what, when you push his belly, he does go PEEF!

This is a must read! You will get in the holiday spirit! Read it to others, and I promise you they will say Thank You!

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A story to last for generations to come., December 12, 2000

By 

Pat Gorman (Rhode Island) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Peef: The Christmas Bear (Hardcover)

This book is cute. Adorable, if you will. I am a 15-year-old boy who just used the words "cute" and "adorable". That's right. I have strayed from the stereotype of a teenager being "too cool" to think anything's cute. Tom Hegg's tale found a way into my heart. Right from the beginning, you can tell the story's going to be good. With the ryhming lines, colorful illustrations, and warm mood, you can't help but read on. In a nutshell, Santa calls upon his elves to aquire different fabrics, with which Santa makes an adorable (there's that word again!) teddy bear. Peef, the Christmas Bear loved dooing oddjobs around the workshop for the Big Guy, but being among these toys made him long for a child to hold him. Watch your entire family's faces light up as you read this beautiful story to them during December (or even Christmas Eve!). This book has the special kind of magic which makes it last through the generations, so that your grandchildren's grandchildren will feel the same joy that you felt when you read it for the first time. Don't miss out on this masterpiece.

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Christmas story for all ages., November 16, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Peef: The Christmas Bear (Hardcover)

I came across this book during a shopping expedition earlier this month. The cover caught my eye and begged to be previewed. As I stood in the store reading the story, I had tears in my eyes. What a wonderful story sharing and caring.