Teddy Bears, by Lachlan

[flickchic]

hiya all, thought I'd share this lovely story by Lachy (9), they had a project, one page, to research and write about a popular toy of their choice(non-electronic):



In 2002 a famous toy loved worldwide by children and adults turned one hundred years old. That toy was the famous cuddly Teddy Bear. What is the history of the Teddy Bear? Who first made the Teddy bear and what ideas did that person have in making the Teddy Bear?<?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" /><o:p></o:p>
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There are two versions regarding the origin of the Teddy Bear. The first is that in November 1902 the President of the United States of America Theodore Roosevelt was in the woods one day hunting when he saw a bear. People with him suggested he shoot the bear but he refused to do this. News soon spread of the Presidents kind act. <o:p></o:p>
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Not long after this took place, a famous cartoonist named Clifford Berryman drew a cartoon based on <?xml:namespace prefix = st1 ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" /><st1:place>Roosevelt</st1:place>'s rescue of the bear. When a shop owner in <st1:place>Brooklyn</st1:place> saw the cartoon, he decided to make toy bears to sell in his shop. He asked President Roosevelt for permission to use the name Teddy's Bear for his toys, as a reminder of the bear <st1:place>Roosevelt</st1:place> had set free.
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The second version of the origin of the Teddy Bear is from <st1:country-region><st1:place>Germany</st1:place></st1:country-region>. Margarete Steiff lived in Geingen. Maragarete Steiff was in a wheel chair as she had polio when she was a child. She used to make stuffed toys like elephants. She made these toys based on sketches that her nephew, Richard Steiff did at the Stuggart zoo. In 1902 based on drawings of a bear Margarete Steiff and her nephew came up with the idea of making a Teddy Bear. Their Teddy Bear was for boys to play with because Margarete Steiff said girls had dolls but boys had nothing.
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In 1903 these bears were displayed at the Leipzig Trade Fair which resulted in an
American ordering 3,000 bears. By the end of that year, the order had increased to 12,000 bears and in 1907, the Steiff Company sold over 1,000,000 toys.
The term Teddy Bear first appeared in the October 1906, issue of Playthings Magazine. It soon became the accepted name for the bear toy. Even the Steiff Company used this term to describe its bears.
The Teddy Bear is the most famous stuffed toy ever created. There have been many famous Teddy Bears attached to children’s stories perhaps the most famous world wide is Winnie the Pooh and Paddington Bear.
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Why is the Teddy Bear so popular with children and adults? The answer is simple, they are soft, cuddly and cute. As children we love our Teddy Bear as if they were a real person. I have seven Teddy Bears. The first whose name is Sebastian I got for Christmas in 1997 when I was just six months old. The other bears names are Walter, Theodore, Rex, Henry, Patrick and Nicholas.
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Today toy companies have changed the Teddy Bear to make it electronic so it walks and talks and waves but these teddy bears are not as nice as the proper Teddy Bear which is not electronic at all.


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