The Berenstain Bears and the Trouble with Commercials (Paperback)

~ Jan Berenstain (Author, Illustrator), Mike Berenstain (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

Brother and Sister Bear are not greedy children, but all the toys and candy on TV look so great! Mama Bear has to find a way to teach her cubs that they can't believe everything they see . . . before that pile of unused toys gets any bigger.

About the Author

Stan and Jan Berenstain were already successful cartoonists for magazines and adult humor books when they began writing children's books. The first story starring the bear family, The Big Honey Hunt, appeared in 1962. Since then, more than 250 Berenstain Bears books have been published, and more than 260 million copies have been sold. What began as a great idea to help their young sons, Leo and Michael, learn to read has become over the years arguably the best-selling children's book series ever.

Since their inception, the Berenstain Bears stories have expanded to include picture books, beginning readers, and chapter books—even a hit TV show on PBS. Writing and illustrating the books has become a Berenstain family affair. Mike joined with his parents as a creative team in the late 1980s. The Bear family has expanded over the years as well. Sister Bear arrived in 1974, and baby Honey joined the family in 2000.

Since Stan's death at age eighty-two in 2005, Jan and Mike have continued to write and illustrate wonderful new adventures for Mama, Papa, Brother, Sister, and Honey Bear. They live in Bucks County, Pennsylvania, which looks a lot like Bear Country.

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 4-8
  
• Paperback: 32 pages
• Publisher: HarperFestival (April 10, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0060573872
• ISBN-13: 978-0060573874
• Product Dimensions: 7.8 x 7.7 x 0.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #68,394 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

  Popular in these categories: (What's this?)

  #67 in	Books > Children's Books > Authors & Illustrators, A-Z > ( B ) > Berenstain, Jan
  #70 in	Books > Children's Books > Popular Characters > Book Characters > Berenstain Bears

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Familiar characters, unique subject matter, April 12, 2007

By	D. Smith - See all my reviews

Children love the Berenstain Bears-- the Berenstain bears have been a source of comfort before dentists' visits, shared important information about safety, and helped in times of transition like new schools or moves. This time, the friendly bears tackle the problem with commercials. Young children are exposed to commercials on TV, the radio, even at school-- this book deals with the "I need that because I saw it on TV" syndrome in a very clever, gentle, and clear way. Highly recommended.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Greedy Bears, July 24, 2007

By	M. Vrieze "Rainbows" - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Sister and Brother bear want EVERYTHING they see on the TV Commercials. Whether it is a new cereal or a new candy or a new toy or whatever. They want it and they HAVE to have it.

Mama Bear thinks she should unplug the TV, but then she would miss her show and Papa Bear would miss his.

The cubs keep pestering her to get the things in the Advertisements. So one day Mama decides to let them have everything they want off the TV commercial. They have to eat every bit of cereal and candy and play with all the toys for a month.

The cubs find out the cereal is gross, the candy is too sour, and the toys are lame.

They stop asking for things off the TV.

3.0 out of 5 stars Interesting solution, doesn't address the magic of comercials, June 10, 2009

By	K. Dyer - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

My kids are rather TV deprived, and so when they get to see TV at other peoples houses they are mesmerized by the commercials. This book does discuss the effect of commercials, but the solution is a little odd -- Mama bear offers to buy EVERYTHING advertised during one particular Saturday morning cartoon session -- with the caveat that that's all they get for the month. That's a lot of money, and many kids would miss the point. I much prefer HBO's "Buy Me That"'s approach that takes the magic out of the commercials.

[...]