A bear named Teddy

A Bear in War
by Stephanie Innes & Harry Endrulat
illustrated by Brian Deines


Teddy was a bear that once belonged to ten-year-old Aileen Rogers who lived on a farm in Quebec. When Aileen's father, Lawrence Rogers, went to war in 1915, she sent Teddy to him as a Christmas present. Teddy was in his pocket when Lawrence was killed at Passchendaele.

Told in Teddy's voice, this is a gentle, true story that commemorates a family's sacrifice.

Bear on the Homefront

by Stephanie Innes & Harry Endrulat

illustrated by Brian Deines

Aileen, now an adult and working as a nurse, gives Teddy to two child war evacuees from England to ease their arrival in Canada. Once again told through Teddy's eyes, his story tenderly captures a wartime's loneliness.

Both picture books are softly illustrated by Brian Deines, who depicts the small bear with loving tenderness. 

This is the real Teddy, who now lives in the Canadian War Museum.