That the plushie is called a "comfort item". Probably not, haha. I reread that chapter after I made that last comment and they're called, "Comfort Objects". In The Giver the people live in a distopian society and the kids each get one stuffed animal that is kept out of reach until it's time for bed but since they've never actually seen a live animal and think the creatures they represent are imaginary [like the girl in the book has a stuffed elephant but thinks that elephants aren't real] they refer to the stuffed animals as "Comfort Objects".

This has been book corner with Topknot. XD