The Berenstain Bears and Too Much TV [Paperback]

Stan Berenstain (Author), Jan Berenstain (Author)

Book Description

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

When Mama Bear decides her family spends too much time in front of the TV, she bans it for a week. Then the Bear family finds other ways to have fun and keep busy, so they watch less when TV is allowed again--and they don't even miss it.  

Editorial Reviews

From the Inside Flap

When Mama Bear decides her family spends too much time in front of the TV, she bans it for a week. Then the Bear family finds other ways to have fun and keep busy, so they watch less when TV is allowed again--and they don't even miss it.  

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; 1St Edition edition (April 12, 1984)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0394865707
• ISBN-13: 978-0394865706
• Product Dimensions: 8 x 0.1 x 8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (27 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,430 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #3 in Books > 4-for-3 Books > Children's Books > Authors & Illustrators, A-Z > ( B ) > Berenstain, Jan
  • #3 in Books > 4-for-3 Books > Children's Books > Authors & Illustrators, A-Z > ( B ) > Berenstain, Stan
  • #3 in Books > 4-for-3 Books > Children's Books > Popular Characters > Book Characters > Berenstain Bears

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

19 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars great to read to kids who are watching too much TV!, October 23, 2000

By 

christinemm - The Thinking Mother (Houston Texas USA) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: The Berenstain Bears and Too Much TV (Paperback)

What a wonderful find. We were in a rut with my 3 year-old watching too much TV and I read this book to him. It was nice to read about Mama Bear thinking the kids are watching too much TV which is what I have taken to chanting lately. It is funny to realize it is a bit dated as they reference having had a black and white TV and now their current color TV has an antenna. No VCR, DVD, TV video games, cable, or satellites are mentioned here! For that matter, computers are never mentioned either (no "too much computer time"). But the main theme is true: as with these Bears, our kids should be outside more, talking to their parents more, not eating in front of the TV like a zombie, and could be reading books and newspapers more, and watching the stars at night. The Bears go without TV for one week and lo and behold are happy and enjoy each other all week long. I had to laugh when Papa Bear thought he could continue watching his sports even when the Bear Kids were banned from the TV. This is all-too-much like the scene in our home! At the end, when the Kids can watch TV, they prefer crafts and toys, and even Papa Bear tires of the TV and goes fishing instead. A note: the Bear Kids go to school and homework is seen in a negative light. Time off from school is portrayed as entertainment time rather than learning time. This is a different mindset than the homeschooling family (like us) usually has.

10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Excellent children's morality story., June 25, 2001

By 

Jeffery S. Herman (Baxter, Tennessee) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Berenstain Bears and Too Much TV (Paperback)

This book is a delightful little story told and illustrated in the quality typical of the Berenstains. It has a clear message without being preachy, and presents the need to balance different activities in our lives. I purchased to give me a starting point to talk to my six-year-old-son about watching too much television, and I will say it fulfilled this purpose admirably. I don't think it's quite as entertaining to children as some of the Berenstains' other works, however. Still, an enjoyable story.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Berenstain magic, November 6, 2006

By 

Shalom Freedman "Shalom Freedman" (Jerusalem,Israel) - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: The Berenstain Bears and Too Much TV (Paperback)

When my children were small they loved the Berenstain books. It still is a great pleasure to see these books. One of their finest features is the appealing way the Bears are drawn. They are so bright and colorful.
The TV book is a good one, and it has an excellent lesson for the world's children. Too much sitting and watching T.V. dulls the mind and the heart. Children need more time to be outside playing, or with their parents, or reading books, or doing many other things.
This book may seem a bit dated as today the couch- potato distractions are more diverse( and perhaps Interactive) than T.V.
In any case this little book is a fine and amusing read for children and for parents alike.