Introducing Teddy: A Gentle Story About Gender and Friendship

A little boy, Errol and his teddy bear, Thomas always play together. One morning Thomas is feeling sad and Errol wants to make him happy by going to the park. Errol wants Thomas to tell him what’s wrong, but Thomas is worried that Errol won’t want to be his friend. Thomas tells Errol that he feels like a girl teddy, not a boy teddy and that her name is Tilly. Errol tells Tilly that he does not care if she is a boy or girl, they are friends. Errol’s friend Ava comes to play and tells Tilly to wear whatever makes you happy. Errol and Tilly are still best friends who always play together.

I really liked Introducing Teddy. The illustrations are simple, colorful and help tell the story. Introducing Teddy shows that is doesn’t matter if you are a boy or a girl, you are important and your friends will still love you. I don’t think people should be sad and worried what others will think of them, you need to be happy with who you are. I’m glad that Thomas became Tilly and was happy.