Jaw-droppingly memorable middle grade by Chicago's own Dan Kraus. Physically fluffy and eternally hopeful Kraus's teddies star in a macabre adventure that is as distinguished as it is dark. Highly recommended for ages 10 & up. -Angela
Truly captivating. --The New York Times
Welcome to The Teddies Saga, a gripping new middle grade trilogy from New York Times-bestselling author Daniel Kraus and illustrator Rovina Cai.
Buddy wakes up in the middle of a garbage dump, filled with a certain awareness: he's a teddy bear; he spent time at a Store waiting for his future to begin; and he is meant for the loving arms of a child. Now he knows one more thing: Something has gone terribly wrong.
Soon he finds other discarded teddies--Horace, Sugar, Sunny, and Reginald. Though they aren't sure how their luck soured, they all agree that they need to get back to the Store if they're ever to fulfill their destinies. So, they embark on a perilous trek across the dump and into the outer world. With ravenous rats, screeching gulls, and a menacing world in front of them, the teddies will need to overcome insurmountable challenges to find their way home.
Equal parts Toy Story and Lord of the Flies, They Threw Us Away is the unforgettable start of a captivating series.
They Stole Our Hearts (Book 2)
The teddies have managed to find a child. Life with Darling is far better than any they've known. But something's not right—the promised bliss of Forever Sleep hasn't come. And they are kept a secret from Darling’s mother.
Then the inevitable happens: Mama discovers the teddies. The teddies sit in horror as they watch one of their own destroyed. The remaining trio barely escape, thrust back into a world that does not want them.
Our heroes decide to return to where they were created. En route, and much to their surprise, they find a civilization of discarded teddies. The comfort of a town of teddies has its allure . . . but the need for answers weighs heavy on Buddy's mind. And there’s something definitely off about these new bears. Will our heroes accept their strange rules? Or must they dig deep for one more adventure to finally learn why they were thrown away?
The answer lies just up the stairs . . .
They Set the Fire (Book 3)
Darkly suspenseful and heartfelt, this trilogy finale of New York Times bestselling author Daniel Kraus's action-packed Teddies Saga is perfect for fans of Victoria Schwab, Katherine Arden, and Holly Black.
After searching so long for a place to call home, the daring teddies—clever Buddy, shrewd Sunny, fearless Nothing, and wise Reginald—find few answers at the place where they were created, Furrington Industries. But with a new friend—a teddy of legend!—the teddies head back into the dangerous world to seek the secrets of their creation.
Soon the teddies find themselves surrounded by people who hated them, and discover that the founder of Furrington Industries, known as the Suit, is on trial for an unknown crime. Left reeling but determined, Buddy leads his friends—those that survive—through the protestors that line the streets outside and into the bowels of the courthouse . . . where they’ll find out the true, incendiary reason the teddies were thrown away.
