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Teddy Bear Habit or How to Become a Winner
Twelve-year-old George Stable wants to be a rock star someday, but he gets horrible stage fright - unless he has his old teddy bear with him. Hiding the teddy in his guitar seems like a brilliant idea until George discovers that someone has hidden jewels in the stuffing of his beloved bear. Quirky yet believable characters and a funky setting make this one a winner all around. Author James Lincoln Collier is the author of several books for children, including Newbery Honor Book My Brother Sam is Dead.
177 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1967
4 people are currently reading
83 people want to read
About the author
James Lincoln Collier
132 books68 followersJames Lincoln Collier (born June 27, 1928) is a journalist, author, and professional musician.
Collier's notable literary works include My Brother Sam Is Dead (1974), a Newbery Honor book that was also named a Notable Children's Book by the American Library Association and nominated for a National Book Award in 1975. He also wrote a children's book titled The Empty Mirror (2004), The Teddy Bear Habit (1967), about an insecure boy whose beatnik guitar teacher turns out to be a crook, and Rich and Famous (1975), sequel to The Teddy Bear Habit. His list of children's books also includes Chipper (2001), about a young boy in a gang. His writings for adults include numerous books on jazz, including biographies of Louis Armstrong, Benny Goodman and Duke Ellington. He has also contributed entries on jazz-related subjects to the Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians.
In addition to his writing, Collier is an accomplished jazz musician who plays the trombone professionally.
Collier's notable literary works include My Brother Sam Is Dead (1974), a Newbery Honor book that was also named a Notable Children's Book by the American Library Association and nominated for a National Book Award in 1975. He also wrote a children's book titled The Empty Mirror (2004), The Teddy Bear Habit (1967), about an insecure boy whose beatnik guitar teacher turns out to be a crook, and Rich and Famous (1975), sequel to The Teddy Bear Habit. His list of children's books also includes Chipper (2001), about a young boy in a gang. His writings for adults include numerous books on jazz, including biographies of Louis Armstrong, Benny Goodman and Duke Ellington. He has also contributed entries on jazz-related subjects to the Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians.
In addition to his writing, Collier is an accomplished jazz musician who plays the trombone professionally.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 31 reviews
February 25, 2009
One of my favorite books as a kid. Loveable main character of a kid who is cool, but still needs his teddy bear for confidence. Set amidst the crazy characters of 1960's Greenwich Village, the author tells this caper story in very fun, hep-cat style.
November 9, 2021
2007 August 25
A favorite from childhood with the comics-illustrating dad, and the Village life. It still appeals.I
Personal copy
A favorite from childhood with the comics-illustrating dad, and the Village life. It still appeals.I
Personal copy
April 13, 2013
I loved this story as a kid - I took it out of the school library numerous times - It made me feel good to read it.
January 17, 2015
my favourite book when I was a tween - I think I took it out from the library every other week for years
April 30, 2018
I thought it might be fun to occasionally revisit a favorite book from my childhood; not surprisingly, I was an avid reader, and I still own a handful of my old kid-lit volumes. One of my most cherished books was The Teddy Bear Habit by James Lincoln Collier, which was first published in 1967. I read it several years after that, and I strongly suspect that even by the late 60s its depiction of a Greenwich Village filled with beatniks and folk singers was already outdated. (Hadn’t the hippies moved in by then?) Still, I was absolutely enraptured by Collier’s depiction of Manhattan.
The book’s hero and narrator, 12-year-old George Stable, lives in Greenwich Village with his dad, a painter who draws comic books on the side. (His mom died when he was a baby.) His father disdains modern music and demands that George study voice with a pretentious British teacher, Mr. Smythe-Jones. However, George is keeping two big secrets: he’s taking guitar lessons from a beatnik named Wiggsy. And he’s got a good-luck charm, an old teddy bear: “I don’t understand it. I just feel stronger and more confident when he’s around… I know it’s a terrible thing for a kid as big as me to go around carrying a teddy bear. It’s a weakness, and it’s embarrassing to me all the time.”
When a chance encounter with a talent scout leads to an audition for a TV show, George has the bright idea of hiding the bear in the body of his acoustic guitar. (Sure, that muffles the sound, but he convinces the producers that “it’s my trademark.”) But then Wiggsy discovers the bear, which becomes a small, stuffed accomplice to a crime committed by the sinister beatnik.
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The book’s hero and narrator, 12-year-old George Stable, lives in Greenwich Village with his dad, a painter who draws comic books on the side. (His mom died when he was a baby.) His father disdains modern music and demands that George study voice with a pretentious British teacher, Mr. Smythe-Jones. However, George is keeping two big secrets: he’s taking guitar lessons from a beatnik named Wiggsy. And he’s got a good-luck charm, an old teddy bear: “I don’t understand it. I just feel stronger and more confident when he’s around… I know it’s a terrible thing for a kid as big as me to go around carrying a teddy bear. It’s a weakness, and it’s embarrassing to me all the time.”
When a chance encounter with a talent scout leads to an audition for a TV show, George has the bright idea of hiding the bear in the body of his acoustic guitar. (Sure, that muffles the sound, but he convinces the producers that “it’s my trademark.”) But then Wiggsy discovers the bear, which becomes a small, stuffed accomplice to a crime committed by the sinister beatnik.
Read the full review
May 15, 2024
I picked this up as a child (quite possibly for the title --- I really liked teddy bears) and have kept it ever since. In the past, I think I was enthralled by the setting (late 60's Greenwich Village with beatniks and bikers, a glimpse of the beginning of the end of the TV variety show), but on this reading I realized how much I had in common with our hero George. This time, I could see the theme of anxiety running through the book and really identified with George's fears of everything spiralling away.
August 25, 2025
Very fun book from my childhood!!!
January 11, 2011
The Teddy-Bear Habit is the story of the adventures of a twelve-year-old boy in Greenwich Village in the mid-1960s. George Stable is...not rebellious. No, he's more real than that. He simply tries to get what he wants in a world of adults who don't understand, and is not above stretching the truth or breaking some rules if that's what it takes. He doesn't glory in that, and at times almost feels a little guilty, but he does what he has to.
It's been a long time since I was his age. But to me, that attitude rings very true. Most kids, I think, do what they think they must to get what they really want. George, the first-person narrator, feels extremely real and modern - even though the book is now almost forty-five years old.
In fact, The Teddy-Bear Habit reminds me very strongly of another first-person story of a New York teen who lives somewhat outside the rules: Holden Caulfield. Truth to tell, the book really strongly reminds me of The Catcher In The Rye, so much so that at times the two books have been slightly merged in my memory. The Teddy-Bear Habit was written 16 years after Catcher, of course, but both books have a remarkably modern, timeless feeling. The city of New York plays a key role in both books, perhaps a bit more so in The Teddy-Bear Habit. George's inner voice is remarkably like Holden's, but younger and not as alienated.
George wants to be a rock and roll star, and to be on television. His father hates rock and roll, and won't allow a television in their house. He (the father) is, however, an extremely funny character; a modern painter who makes a living writing and drawing comic books. The passages about his heroes, Amorpho Man and Garbage Man, are simply hysterical. I could have read a whole book of that stuff!
George has another problem, too: he's a decent singer, and is learning to play the guitar secretly from a music-shop owner, but he has self-confidence issues. He is, simply, dependent on his teddy bear. When it's not around, he's a "loser".
Complications ensue, ones that you'll surely find very memorable. The book is at times quite thrilling. But between the humor and the thrills, it never loses that "real" feeling.
There are a few jarring moments when the Beatles or Murray the K are mentioned as examples of modern coolness. But then, the book was published in 1967.
Speaking of which, avoid the "Lost Treasures" edition if you possibly can. The original edition (and most later ones, until recently) featured wonderful illustrations by Lorenz, whose work also appeared often in The New Yorker, where he was art editor for many years. The illustrations are very funny, and should not be missed! I don't know why they were eliminated from the Lost Treasures edition, but eliminating them makes as much sense as eliminating the classic Tenniel illustrations from Alice.
I recently read the book to my son, age nine. He loved it, and demanded that we seek out the sequel. Unfortunately the sequel doesn't live up to The Teddy-Bear Habit, and isn't quite appropriate for my son - yet. But The Teddy-Bear Habit itself is firmly ensconced as a favorite for both of us.
It's been a long time since I was his age. But to me, that attitude rings very true. Most kids, I think, do what they think they must to get what they really want. George, the first-person narrator, feels extremely real and modern - even though the book is now almost forty-five years old.
In fact, The Teddy-Bear Habit reminds me very strongly of another first-person story of a New York teen who lives somewhat outside the rules: Holden Caulfield. Truth to tell, the book really strongly reminds me of The Catcher In The Rye, so much so that at times the two books have been slightly merged in my memory. The Teddy-Bear Habit was written 16 years after Catcher, of course, but both books have a remarkably modern, timeless feeling. The city of New York plays a key role in both books, perhaps a bit more so in The Teddy-Bear Habit. George's inner voice is remarkably like Holden's, but younger and not as alienated.
George wants to be a rock and roll star, and to be on television. His father hates rock and roll, and won't allow a television in their house. He (the father) is, however, an extremely funny character; a modern painter who makes a living writing and drawing comic books. The passages about his heroes, Amorpho Man and Garbage Man, are simply hysterical. I could have read a whole book of that stuff!
George has another problem, too: he's a decent singer, and is learning to play the guitar secretly from a music-shop owner, but he has self-confidence issues. He is, simply, dependent on his teddy bear. When it's not around, he's a "loser".
Complications ensue, ones that you'll surely find very memorable. The book is at times quite thrilling. But between the humor and the thrills, it never loses that "real" feeling.
There are a few jarring moments when the Beatles or Murray the K are mentioned as examples of modern coolness. But then, the book was published in 1967.
Speaking of which, avoid the "Lost Treasures" edition if you possibly can. The original edition (and most later ones, until recently) featured wonderful illustrations by Lorenz, whose work also appeared often in The New Yorker, where he was art editor for many years. The illustrations are very funny, and should not be missed! I don't know why they were eliminated from the Lost Treasures edition, but eliminating them makes as much sense as eliminating the classic Tenniel illustrations from Alice.
I recently read the book to my son, age nine. He loved it, and demanded that we seek out the sequel. Unfortunately the sequel doesn't live up to The Teddy-Bear Habit, and isn't quite appropriate for my son - yet. But The Teddy-Bear Habit itself is firmly ensconced as a favorite for both of us.
August 25, 2007
One of my all-time favorite books - I had to track down used copies for myself and, when she was old enough, for my eldest niece.
George Stable wants to be a pop star, but his dad, a comics artist, makes him take opera singing lessons instead, so he sneaks off to take guitar lessons from Wiggsy, and in the process ends up being involved in a TV variety show, and entangled with jewel thieves.
I think it was probably meant to be current when it was written, but now it's a time capsule of 1960s Greenwich Village. George is endearing and his adventures are both funny and touching. I loved this book as a ten-year-old, and I loved it again when I reread it as an adult.
George Stable wants to be a pop star, but his dad, a comics artist, makes him take opera singing lessons instead, so he sneaks off to take guitar lessons from Wiggsy, and in the process ends up being involved in a TV variety show, and entangled with jewel thieves.
I think it was probably meant to be current when it was written, but now it's a time capsule of 1960s Greenwich Village. George is endearing and his adventures are both funny and touching. I loved this book as a ten-year-old, and I loved it again when I reread it as an adult.
November 25, 2007
The reprint without illustrations is common but the illustrations by Lorenz made the book for me. Set in Greenwich Village in the 1960s, the book was a safe introduction to the "happening" sixties scene. Also a great story about a kid who learns to believe in himself and his abilities.
September 1, 2015
This was a definite childhood favorite, one that I read and reread for years. It's funny, even when it had been years since I read it, a lot of the moments stuck with me. It's also responsible for my knowing who Jackson Pollack was.
September 18, 2019
Young adult novel written in the style of not appearing to be so. It's a coming of age, adventure, thriller, and funny. It's never 'dumbed down'. Though, obviously, written for the young in age, the themes of insecurity, anxiety, and learning the hard truths about holding back the truth are ageless. Written in 1967, it has dated references to pop culture, but has a grand view in the telling of New York City and Greenwich Village in that time.
Young 12 yr old George wants to be a singer and secretly takes guitar lessons from a dubious character. He holds this fact back from his artist single Dad. Most of all he holds back his anxiety and nerves from performing unless he has his childhood Teddy Bear nearby. This causes problems for him and his dreams and goals and more, especially when someone secretes some stolen valuable jewels from a museum heist inside the bear for safekeeping.
Young 12 yr old George wants to be a singer and secretly takes guitar lessons from a dubious character. He holds this fact back from his artist single Dad. Most of all he holds back his anxiety and nerves from performing unless he has his childhood Teddy Bear nearby. This causes problems for him and his dreams and goals and more, especially when someone secretes some stolen valuable jewels from a museum heist inside the bear for safekeeping.
March 12, 2023
When I was a kid, three books made me a reader: Harriet the Spy, From the Mixed Up Files of Mrs Basil E Frankweiler and The Teddy Bear Habit. All of them are the hip adventures of kids in New York City. Very sophisticated reading for someone living in the small town Midwest. This was a blast to reread. It’s about a boy who lives in the Village with his cartoonist dad. He wants to be on TV with his music but he has stage fright. The presence of his teddy bear gives him confidence. Talking about anxiety is passé today. It was a brave topic when this was written.
July 1, 2018
How I loved this book as a kid! Still do. I've read and re-read it, and it stays fresh each time. I love the young narrator's voice as he goes to extremes to try to hide his embarrassment at depending on his teddy bear and learns, after a scary adventure involving jewelry thieves, to rely on himself. The period detail about action artists and beatniks is great!
April 3, 2019
My first true love book. I read it thirty dozen times in middle school. I will read it again, just because I can.
November 8, 2023
A revisit from childhood.
February 21, 2025
3.75 stars
April 18, 2025
Book-in my library
August 8, 2025
Great and creative story. Starts out slow, but builds and accelerates action starting around the middle of the story.
The best parts of the books are the main character's exaggerations, and he always says them like facts. George, the main character, 12ish years old, describes a conversation with his dad where the dad is taking his time lighting a pipe and George is in a rush. The dad is "Looking for the matches, and after about a month he found them." Then George says his dad, "opened the matchbox, tore off a match, struck it, and began sucking the flame into the pipe and casting out big puffs of smoke. He went on doing this all through December and into March, and finally around the end of June he got the pipe going and he said, 'Math going all right these days?'"
The problems with the book are basically because the setting is super dated. George wanders around alone in Greenwich Village in New York. He goes down the street late at night describing the scary hippie's and motorcycle cowboys hanging out everywhere. There are tons of references to culture of the 60s. Today's kids probably have heard of the Beatles and maybe the Beach Boys. But Freddy and the Dreamers? There are phone booths and telephone books and aerials on the roofs. A tough-talking TV producer meets George in a run-down greasy music shop and invites the kid to audition by saying, "Listen, fella, maybe I can use you. Have your pop give me a horn on Monday." The producer calls everyone "fella." The music shop owner calls all the kids "babe." I'm a child of the 80s and I can barely figure it out. Today's kids don't have a chance.
Worst of all, there are NO GIRLS. Literally none. No girls even mentioned at the school. George is being raised by a single dad. Only boys are auditioning for the musical parts. I think George's friend's mom is briefly mentioned. Maybe.
The best parts of the books are the main character's exaggerations, and he always says them like facts. George, the main character, 12ish years old, describes a conversation with his dad where the dad is taking his time lighting a pipe and George is in a rush. The dad is "Looking for the matches, and after about a month he found them." Then George says his dad, "opened the matchbox, tore off a match, struck it, and began sucking the flame into the pipe and casting out big puffs of smoke. He went on doing this all through December and into March, and finally around the end of June he got the pipe going and he said, 'Math going all right these days?'"
The problems with the book are basically because the setting is super dated. George wanders around alone in Greenwich Village in New York. He goes down the street late at night describing the scary hippie's and motorcycle cowboys hanging out everywhere. There are tons of references to culture of the 60s. Today's kids probably have heard of the Beatles and maybe the Beach Boys. But Freddy and the Dreamers? There are phone booths and telephone books and aerials on the roofs. A tough-talking TV producer meets George in a run-down greasy music shop and invites the kid to audition by saying, "Listen, fella, maybe I can use you. Have your pop give me a horn on Monday." The producer calls everyone "fella." The music shop owner calls all the kids "babe." I'm a child of the 80s and I can barely figure it out. Today's kids don't have a chance.
Worst of all, there are NO GIRLS. Literally none. No girls even mentioned at the school. George is being raised by a single dad. Only boys are auditioning for the musical parts. I think George's friend's mom is briefly mentioned. Maybe.
December 12, 2011
In this coming of age novel, the main character is a talented guitarist who believes he cannot perform without his teddy bear. To an adolescent male, this habit is embarrassing and consumes more of his thoughts and energy than it should. Ultimately, this young man finds himself in a world of trouble and is forced to give up his teddy bear, discovering that life does go on without this habit. This story works as an allegory to the ways in which more harmful, debilitating habits can stand in one’s way and trick one’s mind.
September 12, 2015
Near-perfect story that has absolutely everything working for it, including well-drawn characters, a great location (the beatnik West Village), foolproof structure, suspense that turns surprisingly dark and plenty of organic humor that comes straight from the characters and their idiosyncracies. Such a completely different subject and style from My Brother Sam is Dead that I still can't believe it was written by the same person!
December 14, 2013
This was the first book I read that had an impact on me as a child and made me into a life-long lover of reading. It has stayed with me every since and I can't heap enough praise on the author or the book.
February 12, 2015
Oy. I've never been more happy to be done reading a family chapter book. I'd never read this book, so it didn't hold fond childhood memories for me. Lots of on the cuff editing had to be done to make this palatable for our kiddos. They enjoyed it. Me...glad the teddy bear is dead.
November 27, 2010
Different edition, but I do remember feeling very "cool" when I read this book at age...eight?
December 9, 2010
really enjoyed this book as a child
December 27, 2010
weird, sort of funny, very strange
August 9, 2012
This was one of those memorable read-it-as-a-kid books. Recommend highly. Fun and enchanting for every kid who likes to think of themselves as independent (but...)
August 11, 2016
don't really remember it but it sounds terrible.
November 17, 2007
I only remember loving this as a child, can't quite remember why, I should read this again...
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June 12, 2009The teddy bear habit by James Lincoln Collier (1967), [1st ed.]
Displaying 1 - 30 of 31 reviews