The Flying Teddy product reviews

I just love the cover design of "The Flying Teddy". The closed eyes - are they afraid to open for fear of what they might see as Teddy launches himself in free fall, or are they confident that nothing bad is going to happen? The outstretched arms make his body look like a glider and show how confident he is that the air will buoy him up. There is nothing around him but blue sky so there is no clue as to how high he might be. In fact, the cover tells its own story: the freedom of a little teddy bear taking on the wider world in the expectation of success.

The aim for a more rewarding life is the driver of Teddy's actions. He is determined to do his own thing, changing himself into a bird so he can pursue their lifestyle and be free of the life he perceives as boring. Ignoring the sensible advice of his friend Kiwi, he just walks out and starts chatting to the birds. Despite their reservations when he tells them he is one of them, they try to teach him to fly. Although Teddy is clearly doomed to fail, we had to admire his tenacity. He has such confidence in his own abilities that he refuses to give up!

Eating is his next challenge. Teddies don't eat live worms, but how are the kindly birds to know that? Just in time, a dog rescues him. Then a grumpy man rescues him from the dog. Finally, Teddy really gets to fly although not in the way he had expected. His last rescuer is Penelope, his human and the person who loves him more than anyone. The story ends happily for Teddy as he rejoins Kiwi on the bed where he belongs.

Miss Four (nearly five) loved this story. She wondered if Teddy would run away again or whether he had actually learned his lesson. We looked at the stitches on his tummy where he had needed a small operation (after landing in the rose bushes which tore him open), and thought maybe he would stay home in future with Penelope and Kiwi. She was interested in the concept of how everyone is unique with different appearances, abilities, and attitudes. Pride in oneself was one idea Miss Four is old enough to grasp now; Teddy had to learn to be proud that he was a teddy bear and not a bird that could fly at will.

There were lessons to learn from this story. Miss Four thought Penelope would have been very upset to lose her teddy bear - something Teddy night not have thought of in the excitement of leaving home to go away and try to reinvent himself. She was relieved when Teddy was returned home, just as Miss Four would have been if one of her own toys had suddenly gone missing. As she learns to read, she will return to this book and reread it herself - or possibly read it to her little brother as the graphics are bright enough to appeal to a younger child as well.