A Sweet Remembrance Day Story Book
The Halloween costumes are packed away, and now the red poppies are cropping up everywhere. Children are asking questions about what they mean and sometimes it’s hard to help them understand what ‘Remembrance’ is all about.
That’s why we were delighted to discover A Bear in War, co-authored by Stephanie Innes and Harry Endrulat, and beautifully illustrated with original oil paintings by Brian Deines.
Told from the perspective of Teddy, a stuffed bear that was sent to the front lines of World War I, A Bear in War is the tale of ten year old Aileen Rogers who lived with her family on a farm in Quebec. Aileen’s father, Lawrence Browning Rogers, enlisted in the First Canadian Mounted Rifles in 1915 and went to Europe to serve as a medic. In an effort to cheer him up, Aileen parted with beloved Teddy and sent it to her father, who kept it with him in his pocket as he was tending to wounded soldiers. Sadly, Teddy wasn’t enough to protect him, and he died at the battle of Passchendale on October 30, 1917.
And 85 years later, Lawrence’s granddaughter found the hundreds of letters the family had exchanged, along with Teddy and other war memorabilia packed away in a large briefcase. She was able to delve deeper into the story of how one Canadian family lived through the war. Inspired by the incredible story of Teddy’s experiences, her daughter, Lawrence’s great-granddaughter, took the discovery further and co-authored this wonderful book.
