Customer Reviews

The Birds, the Bees, and the Berenstain Bears

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I read this to both my girls, and the beginning is wonderful and age appropriate. However, in the middle of the book it goes into a birds and bees explanation that was completely confusing my daughters (4 and 7). They wanted to know what that had to do with the baby in my tummy. The answer is nothing, really, I felt it muddied the issue rather than clarifying. I also thought the cliffhanger was sort of a cheap trick to get us to buy another book.

I love Berenstain bears! That said, I couldn't believe how horribly they muddled a topic like birds and bees. If they didn't want to write about it, then they shouldn't have. Instead, they have mother have sister ask the doctor about it. It is a touchy enough subject without books like this implying to kids that it is such an embarassing topic that mothers shouldn't even talk to their kids about it, only doctors! The doctor then answers her questions vaguely by saying the baby comes out the "birth canal". Like that tells sister, or any kid reading it, any more than they already know! Then it ignores the topic. Jan and Stan could have easily written the book by glancing on the topic, and made a good book leaving out asking the doctor questions that weren't really answered. If they were going to talk about it, talk about it, instead of leaving parent and kid with a bad taste of - oh this stuff is too "embarasing" to even mention in a book. Nothing wrong with not mentioning it, just shouldn't mention it if they're just going to blush and avoid it. I think it makes the idea of the birds and the bees even scarier than our culture already has. It does not do this out of respect or sacredness of the topic, as it delves into it, just doesn't say anything about it, but lets talk about this topic but it's too scarry to really talk about in anything but vague terms. (giggle giggle) The way it is written reminds me of a bunch of middle schoolers trying to talk about something they feal they shouldn't and are to embarassed to say anything about!

We are Berenstain Bear fans and this book does a nice job of helping a toddler or preschooler to understand and prepare for the arrival of a new sibling.

This is a really nice treatment of the new baby subject. For those who know the earlier THE BERENSTAIN BEARS' NEW BABY, this would be a great addition. The earlier book is a simple introduction to the subject but this book gives more detailed information that would be a helpful follow-up with the first book. After all, mom's going to be pregnant for quite a while and kids are going to want to do a lot of thinking about the coming event and how it's going to effect them and their family. This book is a useful tool for helping kids get ready for the new baby.

I would give this 5 stars if they hadn't made it a cliff hanger. All in all it's a great book. Asppecialy if your pregneant with a baby and want to share this special time with your kids.