Doctor Ted

Starred review from March 3, 2008
Doctor Ted is guilty of major medical malpractice. He diagnoses his mother with measles (“Those are my freckles,” she insists, unamused) and recommends an operation. He detects gingivitis in his principal and prescribes a full-body cast (he later follows up with an offer to “do something about that foot odor”). It's unlikely, however, that readers will want to revoke Doctor Ted's license—he is, after all, an earnest bear cub, and his unwavering self-assurance in the face of adult certitude is too much fun. Beaty (When Giants Come to Play
) and Lemaitre (Who's Got Game: Three Fables
), working in much the same vein as Alexander Stadler (the Beverly Billingsly books), concoct a breezy story about pretend play that's laugh-out-loud funny. The prose is snappy but sympathetic to the outsize ambitions of its hero, while the pictures' chunky ink lines and almost neonlike digital colors give every page plenty of punch. Ages 4-8.

April 1, 2008
PreS-Gr 1-When Ted bumps his knee and there's no doctor around to help, the young bear takes up the medical profession himself. He prescribes crutches for mumps ("'Those are my cheeks, ' said Mrs. Johnson") and a full-body cast for his grumpy principal's gingivitis. Finally, a minor playground injury allows Ted to shine, and emergency personnel (including librarians balancing books on their heads) give praise. However, the next day, the smell of burnt toast means he's ready for a new career. Beaty's simple sentences and light humor work well, but terms like "house call" and "measles" are likely to be foreign to today's youngsters. Lemaitre's bright backgrounds and varied compositions, from vignette clusters to close-ups, keep interest. The roly-poly bear and his varied animal classmates are simply drawn and outlined in black, giving solidity to the pleasingly minimalist scenes. Pair this with your favorite version of "The Lady with the Alligator Purse" when celebrating community helpers. Clean and sweet, it's hard to resist a book that prescribes, "Take two cookies. You'll feel better in the morning.""Gay Lynn Van Vleck, Henrico County Library, Glen Allen, VA"

Copyright 2008 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

June 1, 2008
In this ode to the imagination, Ted, a little bear, bumps his knee, decides he needs a doctor, and then decides to become one himself when he finds there isnt one in the house. After waiting too long in his own waiting room for patients, helocates a bunch of them at school. Lemaitres illustrations, which put poignant facial expressions onto otherwise fairly cartoonish creatures, provide agood visual counterpoint to Beatys sweet, matter-of-fact sense of humor. Ted is certainly taken aback when the school principal, a boar in a purple jacket, sends him home after Ted diagnoses him with bad breath, a fever, and foot odor. (Teds mother and teacher dont like their diagnoses either.) The predictable turnaround, during which Doctor Ted saves the day, isamusingly delivered; on the last page Ted wakes up, smells burned toast, and decides . . . well, kids will have fun guessing whatTed will do next.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2008, American Library Association.)