Peabody

Rosemary Well's partnership of words and pictures conveys a story with a serious 'message' that is both accessible to young children and acceptable by them. Peabody is an affable and adventurous teddy bear who share all his little girl's activities (including skiing on lolly sticks and boating at the seaside) until the advent of a truly horrendous battery-powered doll. The doll takes over completely until poor Peabody is forgotten. Baby brother comes to the rescue, however, when he bathes the doll and wrecks her. Her expensive talents are shown for the sham they are; Peabody's true love is unbreakable. As the story says, 'Peabody isn't wearing out, he's wearing in' (a comforting thought for those of us who are getting on a bit!). A very popular book this; it sparked off a lot of discussion, especially as we were just coming up to Christmas present time, about what a really good present is and which toys last. It also led at least one child into independent reading for the first time.