I Lost My Bear

Who among us does not recall the sheer anguish caused by the loss of a treasured toy? For a child, misplacing a faithful stuffed friend can feel like the very solar system has gone off kilter. The illustrious Jules Feiffer perfectly captures this sense of utter panic and despair in the thoroughly delightful, I Lost My Bear, a story about a towheaded girl who engages in less-than-scientific detective work to find her absent teddy bear.

At her mother's suggestion, the girl decides to retrace her steps to figure out where she last played with the cherished bear. Anyone who has children can imagine what a labyrinthine path her search takes. First she looks under the bed, and although this crawl-space is overflowing with toys, there is no bear. Then she removes nearly every book from the bookshelf, to no avail. On and on she goes, aided by advice from her annoyed-yet-helpful older sister, until she stumbles upon so many other long-forgotten toys she loses sight of her objective entirely.

Feiffer has created such masterpieces of playful wit as Meanwhile and A Barrel of Laughs, a Vale of Tears, and continues his reign of artful comedy here. His comic-strip-style illustrations (complete with speech bubbles) are delectably squiggly, scratchy, and sketchy but at the same time precise, expressive, and alive with motion. If you haven't introduced your favorite kids to Feiffer's genius before, this book gives you the perfect, hilarious excuse. (Click to see a sample spread. Illustrations 1998 by Jules Feiffer. Permission by Morrow Junior Books.) (Ages 4 to 8)