Where Teddy Bears Come From by Mark Burgess, illustrated by Russell Ayto Grades PreK-2 32 pages Peachtree August 2009 Hardcover     A very cute bedtime story, Where Teddy Bears Come From is the story of a little wolf who cannot fall asleep one night. As his mother tucks him in and reads him a story; Little Wolf comes to the conclusion that he needs a teddy bear to sleep. Mother Wolf sends him off to find out where teddy bears come from. First he asks the wise owl, who recommends that he visit the Three Little Pigs. After Little Wolf sneezes and blows their house down, the pigs direct him to Little Red Riding Hood. When he trips through her door, lands in the laundry basket and is accused of being the Big Bad Wolf, the girl refers him to Goldilocks. He finally comes to an old man with a white beard bending down beside a big red truck who needs his help to huff and puff up his flat tire. To thank Little Wolf, the old man tells him he will know where teddy bears come from when he wakes up in the morning. Receiving his own softest, cuddliest teddy bear as a gift in the morning, Little Wolf finally knows where his teddy bear comes from and has no further troubles falling asleep. This very sweet story borrows a lot of ideas from classics, weaving them together in a comforting tale most appropriate for preschool children. Russell Ayto’s collage-like illustrations are reminiscent of Lauren Child’s but have their own style, adding depth and expression into the work, always moving Little Wolf forward, inviting the reader to turn the page and find out what happens next. Used in a school setting, the book could easily be paired with the original fairy tales to make connections, or reviewed to reinforce the concept of sequence. As a read-aloud, this book joins a host of other teddy bear stories for a perfectly cuddly story time with the large picture-book format well-suited for reading to groups or individual children.     web reviews   Kristine Wildner/2010 for curled up with a good kid's book   For grown-up fiction, nonfiction and speculative fiction book reviews, visit our sister site Curled Up With a Good Book (www.curledup.com)