A Bear for Felicia

My name is Thurston Gustavus Buckridge III. This name was given me by my clever friend Felicia who is also small and brown, with a fringe, a tendency to lose crayons, and a playground of crazy games in her head.

Felicia got me from her mother Stella who got me from her mother Lavinia, so I am actually very old.

But Felicia never minded that. Living with Felicia and her toys Tassikia Magintripp Scopittle the electric blue bear, Amaranita Sarsaparilla Gloriosus the doll and Thunderbox Permusin Peterkar the wind-up mouse was going just honey-smooth for me.

Then things started to go wrong at home. Very wrong. And then, horror of horrors, Felicia's father Elroy wanted to sell me off to a strange foreign long-legged woman called Urbanie Jenovefa Balaclava because he found out that I am worth a lot of money.

So much money that you would need more than a thousand fingers to count it! Would you like to be pulled away from your friends and be sold off, or sent to a musty-fusty museum, however old you are and however much you cost?

There was nothing I could do. There was nothing anybody could do. Nobody could save me -- nobody! BUT. SOMEBODY. DID. Who was it? What did they do?Why did they do it? And how, how, HOW? Read my story that Pinto Bear wrote down Book Reviews It's quirky, cute and immensely charming.

Rachna Shetty in The Sunday Mid-day A great read. Amrita Bose in Time Out Mumbai Pinto's narrative is through the eyes of the bear as he moves from one generation to the next, changing name and gender, too.

To Felicia's grandmother, Lavinia, he is Fatty, while Felicia's mother calls the bear Betty.

A teddy bear is a girl's best friend. As Pinto puts himself in the bear's shoes, what comes out is sheer magic.

M Venkatesh in mint The kids will love it. And so will adults! Rekha Dixit in The Week