Theodore: The Adventures of a Smudgy Bear

by Edward Ormondroyd, Juli Kangas (Illustrator)

Always happy to travel about with Lucy, Theodore the teddy bear is quite used to being dropped and having things spilled on him by his young owner, but when he accidentally gets mixed in with the wash, Lucy doesn't recognize her newly cleaned friend and so Theodore must figure out a way to get smudgy once again.

Genres: Picture Books, Adventure, Family, Childrens, Fiction, Animals, Fantasy

32 pages, Hardcover

First published May 14, 1966

About the author

Edward Ormondroyd grew up in Swarthmore, Pennsylvania, and Ann Arbor, Michigan. During WWII he served onboard a destroyer escort, participating in the invasions of Okinawa and Iwo Jima.

After the war he attended the University of California at Berkeley, where he received a bachelor's degree in English. Later he went back for a master's degree in library science.

He lived in Berkeley for 25 years, working at various jobs while he wrote children's books. He and his wife Joan moved to upstate New York in 1970. They live in the country near Ithaca, in a house designed and partly built by Edward. Their seven children are all grown and independent. They have two grandsons and a granddaughter. Edward's interests include studying piano, gardening, books, birds, flowers (wild and tame), and listening to classical music.

Reviews

[Sarah Rogers · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book tells the story of a young girl and her teddy bear that she has had for a long time. Theodore the bear, is clearly loved as he is old, torn, and smudgy. We see how Lucy loses Theodore, but he actually is just mixed up in the laundry. When she sees Theodore again, he is no longer the same looking bear as he is now clean and good as new. Theodore realizes what has happened and goes on asking many animals to drag him thru the dirt and make him look as he did before. Lucy sees him all dirty again, and realizes he is her bear, and takes him home. This story gives the cute message of loving things just the way they are, as Lucy wants Theodore just as he is all dirty and tattered. A cute story with adorable illustrations showing their adventures and how Theodore cares for Lucy. Great read for young kids to see and learn how you are loved and you in turn love people and things just the way they are flaws and all.

[Rose Rosetree · Rating 5 out of 5]

Being too clean? Being so horribly clean that the people who love you can't recognize you?

I can see how this problem could be most appealing to picture book readers. As a sample of the humorous situations that solve this problem for faithful bear Theodore?

"May I beg your assistance, sir?" Theodore asked.
The friendly dog obliged by dragging him through the gutter for a while, and then left him in a freshly spaded flower bed.
"Thank you," said Theodore. "I'm feeling more bearish already."

For this delightful book, with the heartwarming ending: FIVE STARS.

[Maeve · Rating 2 out of 5]

Theodore the Bear is sometimes neglected (but always loved) by its owner, Lucy. When Lucy leaves Theodore in her pajamas after dress up, Theodore is unknowingly sent to the laundromat. The bear comes out clean, but doesn't feel like itself, and realizes that it likes being a little smudgy...which Lucy understands.

More a lesson on cleaning up after yourself and less on the relationship between a child and their favorite plaything.

[Debby · Rating 4 out of 5]

Theodore is a teddy bear who is very dirty. Lucy, his owner, doesn't recognize him after he accidently gets washed with the laundry, so Theodore gets himself dirty again.

Really cute story. Suitable for pre-school through 3rd. Read to K and RR and they loved it.

[Emily · Rating 3 out of 5]

Still a very sweet story but it's hard to outshine the classic illustrations I grew up with.

[♡ chloe ♡ · Rating 5 out of 5]

this is my most favorite childhood book ever. i don't care if your 86 23 17 or 3 or anywhere in between read this book. it's so cute <3

[Sheila Beaumont · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a favorite book of my son's when he was little, back in the early 1970s, so I was pleasantly surprised to find this new edition just in time for my youngest grandson's birthday. It's a delightful story of a beloved teddy bear, belonging to a little girl named Lucy, who accidentally gets put inside a pile of laundry, and is taken to the Laundromat, where he finds himself, to his dismay, going through a washing machine and dryer. Afterward, he doesn't feel right being so clean, but fortunately he falls out of the wagon on the way home, and with the help of a dog, two fighting cats, and a little boy with a lollipop, he is soon back to his comfortably smudgy, bearish self, after which Lucy finds him and takes him home. This is a fun book that young children will love, enhanced by colorful new illustrations by Juli Kangas.

[Mandy J. Hoffman · Rating 3 out of 5]

Theodore the bear sometimes gets forgotten by his little girl, Lucy. This time it causes a wild adventure in the washing machine and dryer!

This book is cute with a sweet little story line. However, I would not recommend it to any parents of kids who don't like their stuffed animals to be washed. The scenes where Theodore is being washed and dried are fairly dramatic for short children's book.

[Sem · Rating 4 out of 5]

Definitely not a book for young and inexperienced bears. Theodore undergoes a series of perilous adventures which I daren't describe here as I'm still feeling slightly faint. I'll draw a veil over the disturbing moral.

[Krista · Rating 2 out of 5]

Too cutesy and too much like a rip off of Corduroy.

[Rani · Rating 4 out of 5]

What does the bear miss the most when he is clean? The hugs of course! Engaging adventure in two voices.