Not like our animal cousins, we are born helpless and swimming for our lives. So the calming centering energy of a good story will sometimes more than anything else provide a little solace in this storm. Carolyn Jones's children's book Theodora Bear provides just this salve. Of course my main test of a good children's book is to see if it makes me cry. Her story passed the test. Something about it returns me to a more innocent and sweet part of myself. The story capture's the basic parent-child relationship in the form of a little girl and her stuffed animals. What is inspiring about the story is that the child gets to embody the omnipotent yet loving mother that always knows best. So inspiring in fact, that if she were running for president I would vote for her. What is so comforting about the story is that problems are always solved, conflicts are always worked out, and all the toasted marshmallows get shared, thus being clearly different from our mainstream world. And the justice dispensed with is always wise and resourceful making sure no one stuffed animal is more equal then any other stuffed animal. The drawings are great; they have that old fashion spider's web spin and look to them with wonderful child-like expressions on all the stuffed animals. One of the best children's books I have read in a long, long time.