Review: A Teddy Bear for Emily — And President Roosevelt, Too
A Teddy Bear for Emily -- And President Roosevelt, Too
by Nancy Churnin, illustrated by Bethany Stancliffe
Albert Whitman & Co., 2025
Category: Picture Books
Reviewer: Amy Blaine
Buy at Bookshop.org
A Teddy Bear for Emily — And President Roosevelt, Too is a warm-hearted picture book based on the true story of the Michtom family who, in 1902, created a stuffed bear inspired by and named after U.S. president Teddy Roosevelt. The story begins in Brooklyn with mother Rose and her daughter Emily, seated side-by-side. As Rose models her creation of a handmade stuffed bear, Emily assists with needle and thread and listens to her mother recall the story of her parents’ emigration from Russia and their meeting and courtship in America. Ultimately, Rose and Morris Michtom married and together opened a candy store. The bear Emily and her mother are creating was inspired by a news article about President Roosevelt and his reluctance to shoot a real bear on one of his well-publicized hunting trips. Once the stuffed bear is complete, it’s set among the cases and glass jars of the Michtom candy shop, and unofficially named Teddy’s Bear. Interest in the bear grows, but the family is reluctant to sell a bear named after Teddy Roosevelt without first requesting Presidential permission. Incredibly, permission is granted, and the Michtoms begin selling their creation. Clearly tickled by this turn of events, President Roosevelt began showcasing the bears at the White House beginning in 1904.
A Teddy Bear for Emily — And President Roosevelt, Too is a warm-hearted picture book based on the true story of the Michtom family who, in 1902, created a stuffed bear inspired by and named after U.S. president Teddy Roosevelt. The story begins in Brooklyn with mother Rose and her daughter Emily, seated side-by-side. As Rose models her creation of a handmade stuffed bear, Emily assists with needle and thread and listens to her mother recall the story of her parents’ emigration from Russia and their meeting and courtship in America. Ultimately, Rose and Morris Michtom married and together opened a candy store. The bear Emily and her mother are creating was inspired by a news article about President Roosevelt and his reluctance to shoot a real bear on one of his well-publicized hunting trips. Once the stuffed bear is complete, it’s set among the cases and glass jars of the Michtom candy shop, and unofficially named Teddy’s Bear. Interest in the bear grows, but the family is reluctant to sell a bear named after Teddy Roosevelt without first requesting Presidential permission. Incredibly, permission is granted, and the Michtoms begin selling their creation. Clearly tickled by this turn of events, President Roosevelt began showcasing the bears at the White House beginning in 1904.
Illustrator Bethany Stancliffe has worked with Nancy Churnin before, on Dear Mr. Dickens, which won a National Jewish Book Award and a Sydney Taylor Honor. In this book, her style of clear, bold illustrations is reminiscent of a book about another famous bear, Corduroy, and are a good match for the story.
The reasons for Rose and Morris’ emigration to America (“Jewish people in Russia weren’t safe in 1887”) along with a sprinkling of Yiddish terms of endearment lightly allude to the Michtoms' Jewish heritage, but their faith is not a central focus of the book. An author’s note provides additional background to the story, and notes that the original Teddy’s Bear can be seen on display at the Smithsonian’s Museum of American History in Washington, D.C. The overarching theme of kindness makes this an appropriate universal addition to public, school, or personal libraries especially where picture book biographies are popular.
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