The Berenstain Bears' Valentine Blessings

The Berenstain Bears' Valentine Blessings: A Valentine's Day Book For Kids (Berenstain Bears/Living Lights: A Faith Story) by Mike Berenstain

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.

The Berenstain Bears and a Job Well Done

The Berenstain Bears and a Job Well Done (Berenstain Bears/Living Lights: A Faith Story) by Stan and Jan Berenstain

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.

The Berenstain Bears Visit the Firehouse

The Berenstain Bears Visit the Firehouse by Mike Berenstain

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 Learn to Share

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.

The Berenstain Bears and the Joy of Giving: The True Meaning of Christmas

The Berenstain Bears and the Joy of Giving: The True Meaning of Christmas by Jan Berenstain (Author), Mike Berenstain (Author)

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 Berenstain Bears: Gone Fishin'!

The Berenstain Bears: Gone Fishin'! by Mike Berenstain

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.