A Flying Teddy | Video

Kristin Clouston | 12/14/2012

If you like spy adventures and history there is a new book that focuses on Teddy Roosevelt`s life in North Dakota. Dr. Kevin Kremer grew up in Mandan, taught elementary school in Bismarck and has written a number of children`s books featuring our area. His newest book "Are You Smarter Than a Flying Teddy?" has teenagers flying a gigantic Teddy Roosevelt-shaped airship from Florida to Mandan for the 4th of July parade.

Kremer, a retired teacher, says he had to do a lot of homework before writing this book.

"One thing I wanted was the really good stories about Teddy Roosevelt that maybe I wasn`t aware of before, told in a way that any age would enjoy it."

So he read whatever books he could find about Teddy Roosevelt.

"One of them was from 1919. It was only available downloading to a Kindle. It was free. It was written shortly after he died so it was well done."

Still a teacher a heart, Kremer has the large flying Teddy ask people multiple choice questions as it travels to North Dakota.

"Throughout the story there are 38 of those in this book so anyone that`s reading can kind of take a guess at some of the aspects of Teddy`s life."

The adventure also has super spies who try to steal the airship`s technology.

"So I chose two of my former students, Kim Mueller from Bismarck at Dorothy Moses and Miranda Bitz. They were just really good friends and just really something special but I changed their names so they sounded like they were from the far east."

Kremer also put one of his heros, the late Harold Schafer, in the book.

"He visited my classroom in the 80`s and that was so special. He always told stories that just drew me in and even I didn`t realize how special Teddy Roosevelt was to him until I read all the books that I did read."

You never know who will pop up in Kremer`s books, but you can be sure they always have someone from Bismarck-Mandan.

Kremer even put me in this one. I fly up to the characters and interview them in a KFYR-TV helicopter. If you`d like to talk to him about this or any of his other books Kremer will be at Barnes and Noble signing books tomorrow from 10:00 until 1:00.

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