FROM THE PUBLISHER

Teddy is back (decked out in full St. Nick gear!) and all ready for Christmas in an oversized, touch-and-feel photographic book, with novelty elements on every spread. When Ted dresses up as Santa to surprise his friends (Dog, Donkey, Big Bear, and EVEN THE MOUSE!!!) with gifts, little does he know they have a surprise - or two or three or four - in store for him as well! Shimmery and glimmery, soft and bumpy touches nestled within die-cuts cleverly incorporated into the art make for a fantastic feast for the eye, and a treat to touch! An energetic, bouncy rhyming text adds to the excitement of this most festive of holiday books - filled to the brim with fun and friends, toys and Ted, gifts and garlands and good cheer! As he did in Clap Your Hands and Ten In The Bed, David Ellwand again brings cherished childhood toys to life with his trademark charm and warmth.

Author Biography: David Ellwand is trained photographer who has worked in commercial advertising and exhibited his own landscape and abstract photographs. He moved into children's books with the highly successful The Big Book of Beautiful Babies. He works from his studio in an old converted church in Dorset, England.

FROM THE CRITICS

Publishers Weekly

The Moore classic also inspires the text for the touch-and-feel oversize board book Santa Teddy by David Ellwand, illustrated with photos of an indisputably cute stuffed-animal cast. Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information.

School Library Journal

PreS-The five spreads in this board book offer three tactile surfaces for touching: felt (a scarf); rubber (a ball); and shiny, glittery paper. The brief story, illustrated with photographs of toys and stuffed animals, confusingly casts a teddy bear as Santa. Although the target audience indubitably enjoys receiving gifts, this story about Santa Ted giving presents to the toys and the toys giving packages to Santa Ted falls short of conveying anything above the mundane.-S. P. Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information.