View source for Loved to Bits by Teresa Heapy and Katie Cleminson

{{infobox1
|title=Loved to Bits
|author=Teresa Heapy and Katie Cleminson
|reviewer=Peter Magee
|genre=For Sharing
|summary=A delightful picture book about a boy and well-loved bear.  A book to treasure.
|rating=5
|buy=Yes
|borrow=Yes
|pages=32
|publisher=David Fickling Books
|date=July 2018
|isbn=978-1910989333
|cover=1910989339
|aznuk=1910989339
|aznus=1910989339
}}

''Loved to Bits'' is the heartwarming story of a boy's love for his bear.    Bear's adventures with boy take him to all kinds of places and together they fight and defeat every obstacle put in their way, from the jungle to the sea.  Inevitably mishaps occur on the way .  The loss of an arm, a leg, an ear or an eye are nothing to Stripy Ted who shrugs off all injuries with a cheery ''don't worry, I've got one more''.  But boy loves him just as he is and won't hear of him being mended.  His place, after all, is in Boy's bed.

Written in rhyme, this is a delightful story to share with a child, who will probably have their own version of Stripy Ted cuddled up in bed with them.  They'll recognise the adventures, the perils they've faced and the battles they've won.  They'll know too that there's no question of their favourite not being loved exactly as they are.  Hidden in the story is a moral, which is delivered with a very light hand.  People are not always perfect either, but they're still loved and respected for what they are and not for how they look.

The story was inspired by Teresa Heapy's son, Ben who had his own Stripy Ted whom he used to swing around his head.  We can all guess the consequences of that...  I loved the rhymes, which only falter once with 'rafts' and 'laughed' but that's me being very picky.  I doubt that any of the target audience will notice - they'll be far too wrapped up in the story.

I'd like to thank the publishers for sending a copy to the Bookbag.

My other favourite bear book is [[Bear and Hare: Where's Bear? by Emily Gravett]].  They both made me laugh and smile. You might also like [[Once, I was Loved by Belinda Landsberry]].

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[[Category:Teresa Heapy]] [[Category:Katie Cleminson]]