April 2008

When they were young, Rikey Austin's three sons listened to her stories about teddy bears and their adventures. Her characters include Cobby, who fell overboard during a boat trip around the bay, and Mary-Jane, who was so busy with shells, buckets, and flags that she didn't notice the tide coming in. Part of Russ-Berrie's Alice's Bear Shop Collection, Cobby is an adorably soft 15� tan bear wearing blue denim overalls. Cobby is also available in a miniature, 6� version. His pal and fellow Alice's Bear Shop cohort, Mary-Jane, is a fuzzy, 14.5� light tan bear wearing a plaid dress and matching bow. Cobby and Mary-Jane's creator, Rikey Austin, lives with her family in Lyme Regis, England, a coastal town that served as the backdrop for the movie The French Lieutenant's Woman and gives her bear tales a hint of salt and sea.

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