This was such a fun read and a great teddy bear adventure! The illustrations are wonderful and the story is so sweet.

I really liked the idea behind this story and it would be a great little book for any young child who has the same favourite teddy that they take everywhere. The layout was good it just lacked a little for me towards the ending. 3 stars from me

Teddy Bear of the Year is a cute story that runs with the idea of the teddy bears' picnic (likely inspired by the old song). Ollie is Amena's teddy bear. He's on duty pretty much all the time. One night, while Amena is asleep, a floating silver boat arrives outside the window. A grizzled old teddy named The Snug whisks Ollie away to a party in the woods. There, they celebrate their accomplishments as teddy bears, highlighting the important functions they perform for their children. After the picnic is over, Ollie is returned to Amena's bedroom, where she is still asleep. He proceeds to tell her all about the party.

The story is pretty cute, and the illustrations are sweet. The writing is some of the strongest I've seen in a picture book in a long time, technically speaking. It's nice to not have to be tripped up by grammar and punctuation issues.

Overall, this is a strong book about a magical gathering of teddy bears. It's a celebration of our favourite toys, with a message about kindness and caring. I'd recommend it to those looking for books about what toys get up to when our backs are turned, as well as to those who enjoy retellings of old stories and/or songs.

Thank you to Netgalley for providing me with this book in exchange for my honest opinion. This will be available on January 21, 2020.

When I was young, my local library hosted a “teddy bear’s picnic.” Each child brought their own stuffed animal, and read books about bears while eating animal crackers. It was very cute. So, filled with nostalgia, I was happy to read an updated take on The Teddy Bear’s Picnic to my toddler.

In this book, Ollie the bear is invited to a teddy bear’s picnic. There are games and sweets, and stuffed animals are given awards for their service to their humans. Ollie thinks that he’s not a good stuffed friend, but is given an award for his kindness and compassion with his human. The lesson in this story is that even small acts of kindness matter.

It’s a very cute story-line, and the illustrations are adorable. Unfortunately- possibly because this was an ebook copy- the illustrations and words were out of order. It was more difficult to follow than my little guy expected because we’d see pictures for things that didn’t happen for another couple of pages. I’m assuming that was just an upload error and that the final version will be in the proper order. If so, then this would pair up nicely with a teddy bear picnic for your youngster.

Thank you for the opportunity to read and review this book. I think it was a bit too "sophisticated" to be a children's book and I felt that I lost interest in it quickly. However, it did have cute illustrations.

This is a fun and delightful story. This is such a good story kids will ask you to read it over and over. Teddy bear are meant for cuddling!
Thank you to Netgalley for complimentary copy. Thoughts and opinions are my own.