They Threw Us Away

July 15, 2020
The journey to find a child becomes an existential quest for an abandoned teddy bear. Buddy is not just any stuffed bear, but a blue Furrington Teddy with a Real Silk Heart. So why did he wake up in a landfill with other Furringtons of varying hues? A more pressing matter, however, is escaping Trashland and its murderous gulls and bulldozers. Yearning to connect with a child and achieve a state of peaceful Forever Sleep, Buddy and his new friends of differing temperaments and gifts set out on a harrowing journey through the city to find children who will want them. As they encounter other Furringtons in disarray, this opener in The Teddies Saga series becomes a mystery about why these teddies are being harmed in the first place. While the visceral narrative follows the teddy troupe's adventurous challenges and survival, its focus is on Buddy's inner struggles as he ponders identity, leadership, and other existential dilemmas. Kraus doesn't shy away from anger, fear, death, and other dark subjects; instead they become opportunities for growth in difficult environments. Cai's intense, slightly nightmarish grayscale illustrations add immeasurably to the text. Reminiscent of Watership Down in theme and structure, the novel's intermittent teddy creation stories also become parables of a moral code and extend the epic story arc. A cliffhanger ending sets the scene for the next installment. Reflective children will revel in this thought-provoking world. (Fantasy. 9-12)

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July 20, 2020
The life of a Furrington Teddy ought to be simple: wait patiently in one’s box until purchased and presented to a child, resulting, upon the “child’s first loving hug” in the fabled Forever Sleep. When blue teddy Buddy awakens frightened and disoriented in a landfill, he and a band of four other discarded Furringtons of varying colors and dispositions slip into an adventure that pits them against gulls, vermin, and dismal creatures bred by negligence. The Furringtons trudge through the muck and fog of urban environs beyond the garbage heap in search of a child to hug and the truth behind why they were cast aside. Employing a spare, somber tone threaded with moments startling and poignant, Kraus (Bent Heavens) keeps the tale moving at a brisk pace amid its heavy themes. Wispy black-and-white illustrations by Cai (Elatsoe) add to the sense of creeping fear and grim uncertainty. By turns swashbuckling and reflective, touching and disturbing, this existential work of fantasy and horror considers what one is willing to sacrifice when utterly lost. Ages 10–14. Agent: Richard Abate, 3 Arts.

August 1, 2020
Grades 4-6 With a nod to Watership Down (but not to The Velveteen Rabbit despite an equally profound, if antithetical, relationship) Kraus kicks off a trilogy featuring a group of designer teddy bears with Real Silk Hearts who suddenly find themselves in a gigantic garbage dump and set off to find out why. The core four (originally five until gulls rip one to shreds) include Sugar, silly yet visionary thanks to a partially crushed head, and Buddy, who becomes an uncertain leader on the quest to, first, escape the dump's squalor and then, second, be embraced by a child?an act that will, they believe, free them to fall into a Forever Sleep. (Whether that is actually a goal worth seeking is left an open question.) Along with piling on naturalistic details, the author pitches in a monster made of discarded teddy parts and other stomach-churning terrors, compounded by Cai's dark and furious drawings of ravening gulls, bleak roadways, and shadowed locales. Readers with a taste for disturbing adventures and disquieting revelations will be well served.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2020, American Library Association.)

September 1, 2020

Gr 4-6-Buddy is a teddy bear, and he wakes up to find himself far from his cozy box in the toy store. He's in the middle of a garbage dump, and he has no idea how or why he's there. He quickly finds and aligns himself with a few other teddies, and the more they learn and explore, the more sinister things become. The garbage dump is crawling with things that want to eat and/or destroy the teddies, but the world outside the dump isn't much better. In order to find what they're convinced will save them-children-they're going to have to venture beyond the dump and brave the city streets. This unique book begins in a seemingly innocent way, but there are many underlying, more ominous plot lines in the works. It's definitely creepy, has moments of violence, and could easily scare sensitive readers. Those seeking a dark story, however, will find just that. The illustrations are appropriately dark and add to the creep factor. The writing leaves a bit to be desired and contains a number of subject/verb disagreements. There is also an unnecessary and blatant nod to a big fast food chain. VERDICT An additional purchase for larger collections or where middle grade horror is very popular.-Jessica Trafton, Skidompha Lib., Damariscotta, ME

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