When President Theodore Roosevelt, an avid hunter, refused to shoot a bear cub on a hunting expedition to Mississippi in 1902, it became the subject of Clifford Berryman’s feel-good editorial cartoon. In Brooklyn, Rosie and Morris Mitchom’s store sold candy and sundries, including Mrs. Mitchom’s handmade toys. The cartoon inspired Mrs. Mitchom to sew a small, stuffed bear, calling it “Teddy’s Bear.” Soon she couldn’t keep up with demand for “teddy bears.” This merry picture-book history takes some liberty with the facts—there is rumor but not proof that the Mitchom’s wrote Roosevelt for permission to use his name, or that he wrote back on White House stationery, for example—but the author’s note clearly delineates conjecture and artistic license from fact, and also includes reproductions of the cartoon and a photo of an original teddy bear. T he lively narrative is paired with stylized illustrations that have just the right touch of whimsy. (Ages 6–9)