Pajama Press

Teddy’s World War I odyssey takes him from a farm in Quebec to the front lines of France, and finally to his present home in the Canadian War Museum in Ottawa.

In 1915, 37-year-old Lawrence Browning Rogers enlisted in the Fifth Canadian Mounted Rifles, leaving behind his wife, two children, and their farm in East Farnham, Quebec. Over the next two and a half years, the family exchanged hundreds of letters, and daughter Aileen sent her beloved Teddy overseas to keep her father safe. Teddy returned home safely, but Lieutenant Rogers did not; he was killed in the battle of Passchendaele. Eighty-five years later, Lawrence’s granddaughter found Teddy, the letters, and other war memorabilia packed away in a briefcase. Now Lawrence’s great-granddaughter Stephanie Innes and children’s author Harry Endrulat have used those documents to reconstruct a moving story of one family’s love and sacrifice—a story shared by the families of so many soldiers who have lost their lives in the defense of their country.

Accompanied by family photographs and Brian Deines‘ poignant art, A Bear in War is more than one family’s testament to a brave soldier. It is a gentle introduction to war, to Remembrance Day, and to the honor of those who have served their countries.

Awards and Honours:
2013 CCBC Best Books for Kids & Teens Starred Selection
2012 Resource Links “The Year’s Best” selection
2010 Forest of Reading Silver Birch Express Award Honour Book
2009 Children’s Literature Roundtables of Canada Information Book Award finalist
Canadian Living Editor’s Pick
2021 49th Shelf “Lest We Forget: Books for Remembrance Day” reading list selection

Reviews
“…a wonderful testimonial to a family who made the greatest sacrifice for their country in World War I.”—School Library Journal

“[A] moving picture book”—Booklist

“[Deines] brings both a sense of intimacy (Aileen’s hands putting Teddy in a box) and universality (an iconic soldier vanishing in a field of poppies) to the text. A lovely book…”—Kirkus Reviews

“…Innes and Endrulat do not shield the reader from the sadness war brings but choose to demonstrate it with tremendous sensitivity. Deines’ exquisite oil paintings beautifully couple the innocence and sensitivity that Innes and Endrulat create…Highly Recommended.”—CM Magazine

“…highly recommend for school and public libraries…Gently told through the voice of the teddy bear it provides some insight into life during war time for a group of young readers.”—Resource Links

“[Books about war] need not be graphic in their treatment of the subject. Sometimes, subtlety carries more weight…a story with wide-ranging appeal.”—The Montreal Gazette

“A Bear in War is such a beautiful story, and sad at the same time….The illustrations are beautiful and I like the added real photographs and information provided about the family and Teddy.”—Book Time

“The illustrations are beautiful. There are also real photographs throughout the book as well as information about the family at the end.”—Newmarket Today