Few beloved childhood items have the impressive pedigree of the teddy bear. In Making Teddy Bears: Celebrating 100 Years, Paige Gilchrist walks us through the bear"s illustrious history, beginning with the famous 1902 legend of Teddy Roosevelt sparing a bear cub"s life, and tracing the teddy bear"s development through the decades. Wonderful sidebars explore such topics as the collecting craze, teddy bears in the movies, teddies as goodwill ambassadors, and care and repair tips. And naturally, no tale of the teddy bear would be complete without profiles of Winnie the Pooh, Smokey, Paddington, and other big- name bears. The how-to segments are nearly lost amid this wealth of great bear lore, but as the title implies the book indeed teaches how to make teddy bears and does it well. Three master patterns (for single-pattern, nonjointed, and jointed bears) lead to 16 project variations, each with full instructions and color photos. A gallery of "art bears" by various contributors rounds out this delightful celebration of the 100th anniversary of everyone"s favorite stuffed animal. - -Amy Handy