Customer Reviews

Teddy Bear Stories for Grown-Ups

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I was enthusiastically interested when I saw the title of this book. I hoped for stories that were more in depth then children's books about teddy bears, with teddy bears that were not personified, but were still present in the stories. I see teddy bears as being charming and innocent, and expected stories that reflected that quality without being condescending to an adult audience.

What the reader gets in this book is a group of stories complied by Catherine Taylor. These stories were solicited from the general public in England. This mismatched group of stories do maintain a teddy bear theme, but that is the only thing that they have in common. Some of the stories are contrived, dark, and simply TOO adult for my tastes. Overall, the quality of the writing and text choices reminds me of college publications that solicit manuscripts from the student population in order to create a publication with many voices. In this case, teddy bears end up screaming the perceptions of the authors, and some of them are not seen with the compassion or tenderness that some people have for teddy bears.

The only reason I give this book 3 stars instead of 2 is because it seems to fill some market, and some adults may like the less-than-innocent themes. The British have a different relationship with their bears then Americans do, and they definitely have a different sense of humor, which also may appeal to some. A few of the stories did meet my expectations, and I found those few to be genuine and well written. However, I still prefer a well written children's book about teddy bears to this book for adults.

A similiar book of solicited compilations about dolls is "Enchanted Companions: Stories of Dolls in Our Lives" by Carolyn Michael and Friends. The writing is much better and the text is better presented. If you also like dolls, I would recommend it over "Teddy Bear Stories for Grown-Ups" until something better about teddy bears comes along.

this book will make you smile and giggle, as you relive moments you too have spent with a teddy bear, or growing up. Comforting and adorable stories for anyone with a passion for teddy bears.

I got this book from my aunt, who used to collect bears, a few years back. I was enthusiastic about the idea of a book about teddy bears, being a bear lover, myself, but wasn't sure about the "grown-ups" part (I was still rather young).

But I skimmed through it, selecting the stories that sounded interesting, and I loved it. Recently, I went looking through my bookshelves (I'm also a reader, by the way), and I found the copy, and I sat down and read a few of the stories, and it renewed my love for teddy bears. At almost 16 years old, I found myself giving a great big hug to my beloved bear, Pigwidgeon (Named after Ron Weasley's owl in the Harry Potter book series), and longing to add to my collection.

So, whether you're considered an adult or not, I think this book is a good refresher course for collectors and bear-lovers in general.

The book has a good variety of stories some of which are light hearted while others are disturbing and unsettling. It was an enjoyable read.