The Berenstain Bears move from a house in the mountains to a bigger tree house. There are challenges of losing all old friends, but they do get to meet new friends. The bears appear not to be very environmentally responsible as one of the reasons for moving is that they have deforested the area around the mountain. home as part of the carpentry business.
There is a big hockey game on Valentine's Day. Brother gets a mysterious valentine in the mail. He later discovers that "Sweetie Bear" is the goalie on the rival team. It is your typical religious Berenstain Bears book.
Big Bear and Little Bear get the wrong size things to disastrous consequences. Then they switch and all is well. This repeats numerous times. Six year old like the book. Adults? Not so much. At least it is very short. It feels like a very cheap attempt at Go Dog Go.
The bear family is doing spring cleaning, but the cubs get sidetracked playing ball. They repent and clean their playhouse after papa chases away the spiders. The parents then quote some bible verses that may be tangentially related, but don't feel necessary for the story. It is not bad as the series goes.
This is a rhyming Berenstain Bear book that talks about "he bears" and "she bears". He's can be dads. She's can be moms. They both can engage in any career they want. It has positive message of no activities being restricted by gender. This feels very quaint compared to modern concerns with gender dysphoria.
The Berenstain Bears go to a kite flying contest. The bears have a homemade kite, while others have fancy store-bought kites. At first, the bears feel bad that their kite is not as fancy. However, when the wind starts gusting, the other kites fail and "big red" is the only one to remain. This is told in a nice rhyming style, making it a better Berenstain Bear book.
The bears break Mama's favorite lamp with a soccer ball. Rather than admitting to it, they fabricate a lie about a colorful bird coming in and breaking it. However, they get mixed up with the colors, and Papa suggests it is a "black and white" bird like the soccer ball. They admit to it. The parents are sad that they lied, but they learn the lesson to tell the truth rather than make up lies. This is one of the more straightforward, less tedious Bear books.
This is a new Berenstain Bear book written by the later generation that is not religious. The bears go to visit the firehouse where a cousin works. They get to go out on a trip with the firefighters. In this one, it is actually mother bear, rather than father that does a bit of badness. It is nice to see them mix up the formula a bit. I do wonder about using water to put out a restaurant fire. Wouldn't this be where you would be concerned about a grease fire?
The Berenstain Bears Get the Gimmies by Stan Berenstain (Author), Jan Berenstain (Author)
The bear throw tantrums when they don't get the candy or rides that they want. Papa first gives in, but he eventually gets frustrated and gives the cubs a big punishment for the "gimmee tantrums". Then Grandma and Grandpa show up and detail stories of Papa's tantrums. (He seemed to live in an early pre-war time of general stores which would not fit with his age in the book, but hey it does make it interesting.) The cubs decide to follow the plan of getting one thing if they don't tantrum. They then look down on other tantruming bears. One of the beter books in the standard series.
The Berenstain Bears Learn to Share (Berenstain Bears/Living Lights: A Faith Story) by Stan Berenstain, Jan Berenstain, Mike Berenstain
Sister likes to play alone. However, she learns she can have more fun by sharing. All the neighborhood kids have a lot of fun sharing and playing together. However, things get miserable once they start fighting together. A religious message pops in to mention they should share. The message feels a little bit forced in a general "sharing message". Like other "poetry" bear books, this one does struggles in the rhythm.
This is one of the early Berenstain Bears books. Papa Bear is fairly recognizable in art and actions. The bear cubs are more different from the modern cubs. The bears are called as detectives to find a missing pumpkin. Papa is the bumbling oof. He falls in a pigpen, attacks a scarecrow and does many other silly things. The cubs have a detective book they use to guide them on proper activities. They find that the farmer's wife had taken the pumpkin to make pumpkin pie. It seems the main purpose of the story is just to show Papa as an imbecile. The story is pretty lame.
The Berenstain Bears act in the church Christmas pageant. The book goes through the entire details of the Nativity story as they act it out. After the performance, the bears are touched by the spirit of giving. They want to give presents to others rather than receive them. They decide to donate money they were going to use to buy things for themselves. There is a good message, though it is slow moving.
The bears go fishing. The kids use sticks and catch little fish. Papa has a fancy rod and reel. The go together and papa catches a boot and a tire before something causes him to fall in. As he falls in, a big fish comes out. It is a simple, short story in easy reader format.
The Berenstain Bears say good night by Stan and Jan Berenstain
This is one of the shorter "rhyming" Berenstain Bears book. It is a slight step above the standard Berenstain Bears books. The rhythm and rhymes are not quite up to Dr. Seuss standards, but they try. The bears go through their bedtime rituals and then go to bed.
The Bear family go to an amusement park and ride the roller coaster. Everyone enjoys it, but papa gets motion sickness. It is told in a quick rhyming style. I can empathize with Papa and his motion sickness.
