Ollie, a teddy bear, goes one night to his first teddy bear picnic. When the awards are given out, he feels less and less special until the last award, teddy bear of the year, is given to him for the caring things he does every day.

While I liked the premise of the story and the cute illustrations, I found the pace and the telling rather uninspired. I do like the message that you don't have to do something heroic to be important, just being who you are is enough, but there are other books that make it a more exciting journey to come to that conclusion. ( )

An uninspiring mishmash of unconnected ideas coalesces into a soupy, sappy mess in this story of a teddy bear who just doesn't realize how gosh-darn great he is until he receives external validation.

We're introduced to Ollie as some kind of wage slave or corporate lackey—he starts his "shift...weekdays at three in the afternoon" and on weekends is "on call twenty-four hours a day." This could be clever or cute if it were reinforced by the illustrations or otherwise developed, but it's not—Ollie is a generic teddy bear appearing in generic, non-businesslike scenes with his girl. Once the business framing is halfheartedly established, another bear named Snuggles (but called "The Snug") shows up to whisk Ollie away "in the middle of his shift." Does The Snug arrive in a company van? Nope. A corporate jet? Not a chance. He shows up in "a shining silver sailboat" outside the window. (Not even a company yacht!)

So are we dropping the business thing? But then The Snug tells Ollie, "I see you know your ABCs." He's not talking about the alphabet. "ABCs: Always Be Cuddling," says The Snug. "Teddy bear 101." First, if it's teddy bear 101, why is Ollie, an apparently experienced and high-performing teddy bear, as confused as I am? Second, why is this book referencing the famously expletive-laden scene in David Mamet's GLENGARRY GLEN ROSS when Alec Baldwin screams at a bunch of down-on-their-luck salesmen that they must "A - always - B - be - C - closing"? And is "The Snug" supposed to be a reference to Jack Lemmon's character, Shelley "The Machine" Levene? Well, kudos for bringing it back around to business, I guess, but I have no idea what the story's going for here, because it drops right back down to treacly and generic as the two bears arrive at the Teddy Bears' Picnic "held deep in the woods."

At the picnic (what does the famous old song have to do with this book? It's not even called a "company picnic"), Ollie does see "some of his friends from the Teddy Bears' Association" such as "Mr. Pants, Chief Cuddling Officer." That's kind of cute, but still doesn't make sense—is he a member of an association, or an employee who clocks in? If this is an organization he's familiar with or a part of, why didn't he have any idea who The Snug was or know about the night's special event? As the evening wears on, every bear gets some kind of award for service, and Ollie just feels "smaller and smaller" because he's so "ordinary." But then he—and this can't be a SPOILER because you cannot possibly have any emotional investment in the outcome—turns out to have won the Teddy Bear of the Year Award, "given to a young teddy who excels at the ABCs of teddy-care" by providing "the comfort your children need to feel strong," aka, "true Teddy Bear Magic." Yippee.

Look. My four-year-old might enjoy this book well enough if I were to read it to him. But he also likes amateur-produced YouTube videos. He's not at an age of great discernment, is what I'm saying. Which is why I try to spend my time reading him books that are fun, funny, interesting, and emotionally genuine. There are bazillions of them, new and old. It's fine that he finds mental junk food on his own, but from me deserves good stories, the best stories. I'll be hiding this one so he doesn't accidentally run across it and force me to slog through this mawkish, unoriginal text. ( )

Teddy Bear of the Year is a lovely picture book about a bear and his girl. One evening, while his human is asleep, Bear is whisked away to a special event where all the kind and caring bears of the world are recognized for their hard work. Vikki Vansickle's excellent story, combined with Sydney Hanson's bright illustrations, make this a great addition to any kid's bookshelf. And who knows where YOUR teddy bear goes to at night? ( )

This is a cute a story of a teddy bear who loves his job - playing with his girl, snuggling with her, and making her feel great. One night when he gets whisked off into a Teddy Bear Picnic, he feels small and insignificant next to the other bears' accomplishments. Before long, he discovers he's not so ordinary after all. The illustrations have a soft pastel feel and the story is fun and sweet. ( )