The Berenstain Bears and the Bad Dream [Paperback]

Stan Berenstain (Author), Jan Berenstain (Author)

Book Description

Age Level: 4 and up | Grade Level: P and up

After watching a scary movie, both Brother and Sister Bear are troubled by nightmares until Mama and Papa explain what causes bad dreams.  

Editorial Reviews

From the Inside Flap

After watching a scary movie, both Brother and Sister Bear are troubled by nightmares until Mama and Papa explain what causes bad dreams.  

About the Author

Stan and Jan Berenstain were both born in 1923 in Philadelphia.  They didn't know each other as children, but met later at school, at the Philadelphia College of Art.  They liked each other right away, and found out that the both enjoyed the same kinds of books, plays, music and art.  During World War II, Stan was a medical assistant in the Army, and Jan worked in an airplane factory.  When the war was over, they got married and began to work together as artists and writers, primarily drawing cartoons for popular magazines.  After having their two sons Leo and Michael, the Berenstains decided to write some funny children's books that their children and other children could read and enjoy.  Their first published children's book was called The Big Honey Hunt .  It was about a family of bears, who later became known as the "Berenstain Bears".  

Over 50 children's books later, Stan and Jan still plan all of their books together -- both write the stories, and both write the pictures.  They live outside of Philadelphia in the country.

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 4 and up
  
• Paperback: 32 pages
• Publisher: Random House Books for Young Readers (May 12, 1988)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0394873416
• ISBN-13: 978-0394873411
• Product Dimensions: 8 x 0.1 x 8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (19 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #4,232 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #6 in Books > 4-for-3 Books > Children's Books > Authors & Illustrators, A-Z > ( B ) > Berenstain, Stan
  • #6 in Books > 4-for-3 Books > Children's Books > Authors & Illustrators, A-Z > ( B ) > Berenstain, Jan
  • #7 in Books > 4-for-3 Books > Children's Books > Popular Characters > Book Characters > Berenstain Bears

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

23 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars The Bernstain Bears and the Bad Dream, April 5, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: The Berenstain Bears And The Bad Dream (Turtleback School & Library Binding Edition) (Berenstain Bears First Time Chapter Books (Prebound)) (School & Library Binding)

I bought this book because my 2 1/2 year old daughter was having nightmares. It explained to her what nightmares were in a way that she could understand. After I finished the book she said "no monsters Mommy?". I have read it to her before bed everynight since I bought it and she has not had nightmares since. I would recommend it to anyone who has a child who is having nightmares or who is afraid of monsters in the night. What a lifesaver this book is...I now get a full night's sleep again!

Heather

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Simple, Soft, Explanation of Nightmares for Young Children, October 23, 2003

By 

M. Allen Greenbaum (California) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)    (HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Berenstain Bears And The Bad Dream (Turtleback School & Library Binding Edition) (Berenstain Bears First Time Chapter Books (Prebound)) (School & Library Binding)

Both "Brother" and "Sister" Bear have bad dreams after they play with some toy monsters, and "Brother" sees a movie about them. "Mama Bear" and "Papa Bear" comfort them when they each have bad dreams that night:

"But it was so real!" she said, calming down a bit.
"That's how it is with dreams," he [Papa] said. "It's as if they're really happening, but they're not-they're just in your mind."

After Sister explains the dream, Mama explains that the mind keeps thinking during sleep, but in a nonsensical way, and that a dream "takes all the things you were thinking or were nervous about during the day and puts them together all jumbled like a mixed-up jigsaw puzzle." Mama validates that the dream is scary but also points out how it was interesting.

This may or may not help a child experiencing his/her first nightmares. It's might be useful as an initial explanation, but it doesn't (nor does it intend to) offer much more insight or coping strategies than those mentioned above. As usual, the drawings are fairly bland and unimaginative, but will be familiar to the Berenstain Bear fan.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Two boys' review: Helps you talk about what causes bad dreams, January 3, 2009

By 

Jared Castle (Roseburg, Oregon United States) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (TOP 500 REVIEWER)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Berenstain Bears and the Bad Dream (Paperback)

We expanded our collection of Berenstain Bears books this Christmas. Our sons, ages 6 and 4, enjoy these books and find it easy to relate to the young bears in the series. I like to mix these stories into our rotation of bedtime books as the need arises. That's how I came to buy "The Berenstain Bears and the Bad Dream."

This past year has been an especially hard on the boys. All of the superhero movies they wanted to see - Iron Man and Incredible Hulk and The Dark Knight - were not appropriate for their age. I mention this because at the heart of this book is brother bear's desire to see "Space Grizzlies," a movie that leads to the titular bad dream. So, this book helped illustrate why I didn't want my sons to see PG- or PG-13-rated movies.

This book hasn't stopped my sons from having bad dreams but it has become a useful resource that helps us talk through what causes bad dreams and why the dreams themselves can't hurt us.

We also own and recommend:
The Berenstain Bears and the Trouble with Chores
The Berenstain Bears Help Around the House
The Berenstain Bears Forget Their Manners
The Berenstain Bears Get in a Fight
The Berenstain Bears Learn About Strangers