Customer Reviews

The Berenstain Bears and a Job Well Done (Berenstain Bears/Living Lights)

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(10)
3 star:		(9)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Great work ethic isn't just a useful life skill, it's a biblical principle - that's what the bear cubs learn in The Berenstain Bears and a Job Well Done by Jan and Mike Berenstain.

It's spring cleaning time, and everyone in the Berenstain family has a job. While Mama beats the rugs, Papa fixes a broken railing, and Brother, Sister, and Honey head off to clean their playhouse. The cubs start out with good intentions, but when they discover spiders living inside the playhouse, they are a little put off. Soon, they rediscover Brother's baseball, bat, and glove laying nearby and begin playing with them.

When Papa finishes his chore, he's surprised to see the cubs playing even though the playhouse is still a mess. Papa's not pleased, but when he learns the cubs are afraid of spiders, he remembers he felt the same as a cub. He sweeps away the spiders and the cubs get back to work. Papa tells them the Bible has something to say about hard work: "It says...finish your outdoor work and get your fields ready; after that, build your house." Mama adds: "It says in the Bible that God made work for us to do and there's nothing better than to enjoy your work." The entire family agrees they will enjoy their fixed railing, the clean rugs, and a clean playhouse.

The inside cover of the book includes two questions for discussion, directions for making a chore chart, and the suggestion it's good to help others with their chores.

What I Like: My four year old loves the Berenstain bears, and since she needs help with her work ethic, this book was a big hit for both kid and mom.

What I Dislike: I wish the Bible verses Mama and Papa mention were notated somewhere. As it is, the only attributed biblical quotation appears before the story: "Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with all your might." Eccl. 9:10. I was also a bit surprised to find the book doesn't mention possibly the strongest biblical saying about work: "Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men." (Col. 3:23).

Overall Rating: Very Good.

Kristina Seleshanko
Christian Children's Book Review

My daughter loves Berenstain Bears books. We had been reading older, classic tales but then I saw that the Berenstains (the authors) had teamed up with Zonderkidz to create some new stories that really focused on "helping children learn how God wants them to live every day."

I am disappointed by the outcome though. This book is supposed to focus on "what the Bible says about the joy of work" but this comes through in a very confusing, weird way.

Here's the story in brief: The bear cubs are supposed to be cleaning their playhouse but they notice spiders inside so they decide to clean the outside in hopes of scaring the spiders out. While cleaning the outside, they notice a baseball bat, glove and ball that had been left outside and they start playing baseball. Papa Bear comes over, notices that the playhouse is still dirty and gives them this lesson: "Did you know that the Bible has something to say about getting the job done... It says finish your outdoor work and get your fields ready; after that, build your house." This observation confuses the bear cubs...and my daughter! Certainly there are better Bible verses to emphasize the value of work and a job well done.

We still read the book, and my daughter enjoys the pictures - we've just added some extra commentary that makes the lesson a bit clearer.

I'm pushing thirty pretty soon and expecting my first baby. I've been digging out my old childhood things wondering if I can't reuse some of them for sentimental reasons when I came across my stack of old Berenstain Bears books. It was a hoot reading them all over again. Then I found a new book offered on the Vine program and I jumped at the chance to add some more to my collection.

Imagine my surprise when not only do Mama Bear and Papa Bear suddenly have a new addition to the family named Honey Bear, but they have also suddenly found God. I was surprised by the addition of Bible passages and morality lessons stuck in the back of the book. I wasn't offended, but I was surprised. Okay, maybe offended is too strong of a word, I guess disappointed is a better word. And I don't know why. Lessons about God and Christianity, and making the right choices in a children's book is not something that should disappoint me. Anything that helps and gets the message across, right?

But after reading this I know I am going to be much more careful at which new Berenstain Bear book I pick up now. It's as if I need to screen them beforehand to know what I'm getting into before I purchase. Which is what I guess disappoints me. Or saddens me. It's like a trusty and faithful old friend has changed on me.

Growing up I loved the Bernstein Bears books. Thankfully they still make this for the next generation.

Couple of things, this specific one is religious/christian themed, designed to teach good morals, etc. This may be good or bad depending on what you're trying to encourage/show in your child. Although I do thing it's a quite 'safe' topic for a kid.

The only other issue is that it seems like a cheap binding, just a few pages bent over and stapled, but that's why it's so affordable as well!

My children are all in their thirties. We read The Berenstain Bears books when they were little and enjoyed them very much. I now have young grandchildren and got A Job Well Done to read to them. The illustrations were familiar, although Honey is an addition I did not know about. I think the biggest surprise was the references to the Bible. I didn't know about this when I ordered the book. I'm not offended, just surprised.

I wish children, or even adults, could learn to finish a job by reading a quick story. It is a way to open a discussion and there are even questions that could be asked at the end of the book. The story is cute and what you would expect. Children should enjoy it. I liked the spiders with grumpy faces!

I grew up on the Berenstain Bears and loved them. Now, Mike Berenstain, son of the original authors, is carrying on the series. This book is great fun for kids but also teaches an important lesson--the importance of work and chores. This book is part of a Christian-themed series of Berenstain Bears books released by Zonderkids. For families that want to inculcate morals and values in their children, this book and this series is outstanding. Highly recommended.

When I was a child I used to love reading books about the Berenstain bears. They were innocent fun. There was no agenda behind the books; each book taught me a lesson, sure, but the lesson was couched in a common sense story about what you should do in life when you found yourself in a bit of trouble. Now it seems the new authors of the Berenstain bears are not content to just offer practical lessons in life to their readers, they have added a religious agenda. I feel bad about this. I feel that, in ones' childhood, one should be kept clear of the ever present cultural wars amongst adults that exist in our society. I long for the old Berenstain bears, who didn't have any agenda but to entertain and teach a simple lesson about how to make it through the trials and tribulations of daily life.

Like others, I should have read the description of this book more carefully. I didn't realize it was going to be religious. We've read older Berenstain Bears books, so I thought it would just be the same. Near the end there are references to the bible and God. I tried to edit them out, but as it was the first time I read it to my son I kinda stumbled over it. Besides those references, this book just didn't seem to have the same tone and fun of earlier books. I found it kind of boring and will be surprised if my son reaches for this one again.

I just sat down and read this story with my kids. They all enjoyed it (ages 2,4, and 6). I was curious how Papa was going to be portrayed (because he is often an oaf and part of the conflict rather than part of the solution). In this story, all the bears have a job to do for spring cleaning. Papa and Mama both set about their tasks. Brother, Sister, and Honey start on their task, but then switch gears and start playing baseball. Papa shows a great example in the story by having compassion (hating spiders, too), but holding them accountable to doing their work.

My 6 year old said that this is a great story to encourage kids to do the jobs that they don't like doing. She thought parents would like reading this book to their kids and that the kids would like it, too.

My kids love the Berenstain Bears, both in book and TV form. I appreciate the moral compass at work in the storytelling and the positive influence it can have on impressionable children.

However, this particular book came as quite a surprise. I was unaware that the Berenstain Bears promoted a specific religious agenda. Not being Christian, I found myself stumbling with the kids over the references to passages in the Bible that occur right at the end of the book.

I took the time to explain, but my feeling is that if the Berenstain Bears are promoting specific religious teachings, then that should be made obvious on the front cover. Instead, there is very, very small reference to this on the back cover, buried at the bottom amidst the legal copy.

Of course, I have no problem with whatever doctrine the Bears creators are advocating; I just wish it were more clear so that all parents can make an informed choice. I don't recall the TV show (on PBS) being that specific, nor the few other Berenstain Bear books we have seen over the years.