"The Berenstain Bears' Mad, Mad, Mad Toy Craze" by Stan and Jan Berenstain

As a parent, I'm not sure if there is anything more confusing than toy fads that involve toys you can't play with. Even as a child, I didn't 'get it.' I remember when Beanie Babies were a craze and I collected them, but I also played with them. I even *gasp* cut the tags off. However, there are those toys that pop-up that I just don't get the appeal of. So when I first saw The Berenstain Bears' Mad, Mad, Mad Toy Craze, I chuckled because of subject manner. However, I am not able to recommend this book.

Like the rest of the cubs in Bear Country, Brother and Sister become obsessed with collecting Bearie Bubbies. They have to have them, they just have to. When the stores run out, their friends start selling them (at a ridiculous price of course). They start popping up everywhere and soon the Bear's tree house is filled to the brim with these stuffed critters. It seems like there is not end in sight for the madness that is Bearie Bubbies.

This book left me with a "what just happened?" feel when I finished it. I am so used to The Berenstain Bears leaving me with a life lesson of some sort- don't talk to strangers, eat junk food in moderation, do your homework, that sort of thing. This book just ends. There is no moral, no lesson, nothing. I even checked to make sure that there weren't pages stuck together or missing because there literally was no ending to the story. After looking at it's Goodreads page, I saw that I wasn't the only person left confused upon completion. It felt like Stan and Jan had a deadline they didn't meet, so they just sent the book off without the last few pages. Or maybe, like me, the Berenstains didn't 'get it' either so they just didn't put their normal amount of effort into this book. Either way, if you're looking for book to read with the kiddos, feel free to pass on this one.

Happy Reading!

-Melly

"The Berenstain Bears and the Mama's Day Surprise" by Stan & Jan Berenstain

In The Berenstain Bears and the Mama's Day Surprise Mother's Day is fast approaching and Mama Bear has a pretty good idea that Papa and the cubs will be making her a special breakfast in bed. She busies herself making sure that all of the ingredients are available and pretending she has no idea what is planned. She knows that after her special breakfast, she will have to clean up the mess, but she also knows it's the thought that counts. However, what she doesn't know is that her family will actually manage to surprise her.

I saw some complaints because this book is told completely from the perspective of Mama Bear, but I kind of liked that. I think it gives some real insight as to what it's really like to be a mom, and how they are usually in the know about what the rest of their family is up to. I also like that Papa, Brother, and Sister still manage to surprise Mama even though she is certain that won't happen. I'm not sure if younger kids will enjoy this book as much, since it doesn't center on Brother and Sister, I think slightly older kids will enjoy it. I certainly think that it is an excellent book for kids to share with their mother.

Happy Mother's Day!
-Melly

"The Berenstain Bears' Dollars and Sense" by Stan and Jan Berenstain

I recently had the opportunity to read a ton of The Berenstain Bears books (hooray for my library having a good chunk of these available for the Kindle), one of them being The Berenstain Bears' Dollars and Sense. Sadly, this one did not meet my expectations. Normally these books have some sort of good lesson that can be learned. However, I felt that this one wasn't on par with the rest of the series. 

Brother and Sister are having money problems. As soon as they get a couple dollars, they instantly spend them and are broke again. Papa tries giving them an allowance, but this doesn't solve anything. Finally Mama gets the brilliant idea to give the cubs some old check books so that they can learn to better manage their funds. This all sounds great until the book ends. As soon as the cubs get the checkbooks, their money problems immediately cease. It would have been nice for there to be a little bit more time for the cubs to learn the check process instead of the problem being instantly solved. I feel like children reading this book wouldn't get a firm grasp of the lesson this book teaches (considering that I'm not completely certain what the lesson was, I doubt kids would get it either). I don't think I read The Berenstain Bears' Trouble with Money as a child but now I wish I had. I can't help but wonder if both books cover the same topics (and which one did it better).

As a general rule, I highly recommend these books and for the most part I feel you can't go wrong with these books. However, I think you can avoid this particular book. 

Happy Reading!
-Melly