Home Before Dark - Hardcover

Beck, Ian

3.83

35 ratings by Goodreads

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0439175224 ISBN 13: 9780439175227

Publisher: Scholastic, 2001

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When his owner, Lily, drops him from her carriage, Teddy knows that he must find a way to make it back home in order to be by her side for bedtime.

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From School Library Journal:

PreS-Gr 1-Lily won't go anywhere without her beloved Teddy. Even on a windy day in the park, she takes him along for the ride. When she falls asleep in her stroller on the way home and loses her grip on him, the little bear slips to the ground and is left behind. Although frightened, he knows that he must "-get home to Lily before dark." During his arduous journey, he is splashed, bashed, bumped, and even sniffed by a dog. However, the plucky bear continues, making his way up steep hills and against the wind to get home to Lily. When he finally makes it to the front door, no one hears his knocks and it appears that all is lost. Luckily, the paperboy arrives, delivering him through the mail slot, just in time for bed. This is a sweet, simple story with a happy ending; however, the delivery is a bit awkward and not particularly original. The illustrations are large and the colors bright, and the two-page spreads in the park and on the street are effectively dramatic. With so many titles with a similar theme, such as Martin Waddell's Small Bear Lost (Candlewick, 1998), Michaela Morgan's Edward Loses His Teddy Bear (Dutton, 1988; o.p.), and Jane Hissey's Little Bear Lost (Sandvik, 1994), this one is strictly additional.-Piper L. Nyman, Fairfield/Suisun Community Library, Fairfield, CA

From Publishers Weekly:

A fantasy about a lost teddy bear, this tale founders on its gaps in narrative logic. Lily and her mother are in the park when her mother says it's time to leave: "It looks like it's going to rain, and we must get home before dark." Lily falls asleep in her stroller and her teddy bear slips out of her arms, whereupon he comes to life (the why and wherefore of this transformation are not addressed) and feels the pressure of the mother's words: "He had to go home to Lily before dark." The terrors of being out after dark appear legion: the ambulatory Teddy encounters killer cars, looming pedestrians and a monstrous-looking Scottie, all amid often-blinding rain and wind. The arduous journey resolves happily a paperboy slips him through the mail slot, and when last seen, the stuffed toy is snuggling with the joyful (but oblivious) Lily. Beck (The Teddy Robber) ratchets up the narrative's menacing mood with his deft use of chiaroscuro and vertiginous, cinematic angles. The whole outing, from the unresolved issue of Teddy as independent creature versus inanimate toy to the unquestioned fear of the dark, seems likelier to induce anxiety than to entertain children. Ages. 6 mos.-6 yrs.

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