The story of the Teddy Bear

							The story of the Teddy Bear . . .

Name: ______________________________

Summarizing                 Text

                            Many of us have loved a teddy bear.

                            Maybe we've even had more than one very special
                            "teddy" in our lives. Here is the real story of how the
                            teddy bear sprang into our hearts.

                            Nearly 100 years ago, President Theodore
                            Roosevelt, went on a bear hunt. He enjoyed nature
                            and being out in the woods where animals lived.
                            Because he was the President of the United States,
                            the people organizing the hunt wanted to make sure
                            the hunt was successful.

                            But after 3 days of walking and climbing and riding,
                            no bears were found. Now what? The President's
                            bear hunt would be a failure!

                            The next day the hunt guide and his hunting dogs
                            finally found an old bear. The dogs and guide
                            followed the bear for quite a distance until the bear
                            was very, very tired. The dogs attacked and injured
                            the old bear. The guides tied the bear to a tree and
                            called for the President. Here was a bear for him to
                            shoot!

                            President Roosevelt looked at the poor old bear and
                            said "no!" No one would shoot this old bear for
                            sport. That would not be right. However, the bear
                            was injured and suffering. President Roosevelt
                            ordered that the bear be put down to end its pain.

                            So that is how a bear became connected to the
                            name of President Theodore Roosevelt.



                            But where do toy "teddy bears" come from?

                            After this famous cartoon appeared in the papers, a
                            shopkeeper, Morris Michtom took two stuffed toy
                         bears which his wife had made and put them in his
                         shop window. He had an idea.

                         Mr. Michtom asked for permission from President
                         Theodore Roosevelt to call these toy bears "Teddy's
                         bears". This store eventually became the Ideal
                         Novelty and Toy Company.

                         Other stuffed animals were made by a German
                         company, Steiff. An illness left Margaret Steiff
                         unable to walk. She refused to be stopped by her
                         handicap and earned her living by sewing. First she
                         made stuffed elephants, then other animals. In 1903
                         an American saw a stuffed bear she had made and
                         ordered many of them.

                         The phrase caught on. Now toy bears are often
                         called teddy bears!

1. What are some of the things Teddy Roosevelt enjoyed doing?
     a. Hunting and nature
     b. Swimming and walking
     c. Talking and making toys



2. How many days did Teddy Roosevelt search for the bear?
     a. 3
     b. 10
     c. 5



3. What is one of the qualities Teddy Roosevelt showed to the bear?
     a. Anger
     b. Patience
     c. Mercy



4. Using the cartoons provided below, make an inference about the artist who made
   the cartoon.
       a. The artist made a mistake with the size of the bear
       b. The artist changed the size of the bear to have the reader or viewer
           understand why Roosevelt did not shoot him
       c. The artist wanted to show Roosevelt was mean for hunting a baby bear
A political
cartoonist
by the name of
Clifford Berryman
heard this story. A
political cartoonist
draws about current
events in the news.
Mr. Berryman drew a
cartoon showing how
President Roosevelt
refused to shoot the
bear while hunting in
Mississippi.


If you look at the first cartoon that was printed about the President's bear hunt
you see Theodore Roosevelt in the front. In the back is the guide with a bear
tied on a leash. Notice that the guide and the bear are about the same size,
suggesting a grown bear.


                                            Look at the cartoon
                                            which appeared later in other
                                            papers. It has been redrawn.
                                            The bear is smaller than the
                                            guide. The bear is shaking
                                            with fear. This cute bear cub
                                            began to appear in other
                                            cartoons, which Clifford
                                            Berryman drew throughout
                                            Theodore Roosevelt's career.