A warm fuzzy to help you sleep -- The Million Dollar Bear by William Kotzwinkle and David Catrow

Teaching Pre K-8, Jan 1996 by Hurst, Carol Otis

A warm fuzzy to help you sleep. On a lighter note, take a look at William Kotzwinkle and David Catrow's The Million Dollar Bear (Knopf, 1995, ISBN 0-679-85295-6). It's a sweet story that pokes fun at collectors who have profit in mind.

Here we have two very rich men and their teddy bear collections. Although they both own many valuable teddy bears, one of them owns the first teddy bear ever made. He knows it's worth a million dollars, so he keeps it in a vault, much to the envy of the other rich collector.

The million dollar teddy bear, however, is a sociable sort, and he misses the world he used to know before he became so valuable. He hates being kept in the vault.

Through a series of rather bizarre but funny events, the million dollar bear lands in a trash heap with only one ear exposed, looking like an old doughnut. Rescued by a little boy, the bear becomes part of a loving family that recognizes its real value a toy for the youngest one.

This one leaves you smiling, and that's not a bad way to end a column, is it?