Language: G (0 swears 0 'f'); Mature Content: G; Violence: G
BUYING ADVISORY: EL, MS - ADVISABLE
APPEALS TO: SEVERAL
"The Secondhand Home for the Tossed and Treasured" belongs to a mother and daughter who are refugees from Ukraine. Pocket Bear, who was found in a cupboard in their home, was the first toy which started the collection. He is a handmade bear intended as a companion and reminder of home for a soldier during WWI. Now, Pocket Bear, called "Sarge" by the other toys, is daughter Dasha's favorite, and at night Pocket Bear organizes the toys in the shop - who come alive when no one is around to notice - and inducts new toys, ready for their rehabilitation and possible adoption by another child to love them. Zephyrina is the cat who finds most of the tossed and treasured, bringing home discoveries during the night which Dasha and her mother restore. Zephyrina's latest find is a rare and valuable bear which might change everything.
I loved learning about the history of teddy bears, especially Mascot Bears and what may have been the prototype for the Steiff Bear. Dasha had been injured by a bomb while in Ukraine, so there were some meaningful connections to war, both modern and WWI from a hundred years ago. I read the short summary on the book flap and was immediately excited to read "Pocket Bear." It was not as much magical realism as I expected. More about the Cat's involvement, but I still loved every page. The chapters are short, the text on the large size, so it's market is certainly upper elementary, but the story is engaging and the ending exciting enough for middle school readers as well.
Lisa Librarian
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