What fun it was to introduce Zylie the Bear to little girls and watch their faces light up–instant friendship. This trendy bear, dressed to explore the globe in style, comes with a purse packed with a passport, diary and map ready for adventure. Kids entered right into her imaginative world of travel, learning and living. “What does Zylie write in her diary?” “Want me to go and get a little chair for Zylie?” Fascinated with the diary, a little girl announced, “Zylie’s going to travel. Write Zylie’s first trip to Hawaii!” Easily slipping on different combinations of beautifully constructed clothes and accessories, girls created a story of Zylie’s adventures on their own. Quick to start reading Zylie’s first book, a girl paused and asked me what “journalist” meant. I showed her the glossary at the back of the book where she could look up words she didn’t know. Then I challenged her to keep reading and add to the list if she found a word not included in the glossary. Each book follows Zylie and her friends to a new place, New York City, China and on to Australia, where they pick up a new character from each country. Shen, The Panda, is now part of the gang as they continue their globe trotting.Finally, my little friend looked at me and said, “What should I write in her diary?” Before I could answer she offered her own entry, “Pippa opened Zylie up and she loved her!” Who knew a bear could ignite such creativity, learning and love