Thank you, Stan and Jan!

A bowl of cereal (usually Cocoa Puffs) and a Berenstain Bears book went hand in glove for this writer as a kid.  The only risk was getting sugar-infused milk spilled on the pages if I got too engrossed! But childhood does not last forever. Soon our collection of Berenstain Bears books was donated to younger kids so they too could experience Stan and Jan Berenstain's magic.

The formulaic nature of the series has caused some critics to whine and beef about them like in this example. Big mouth sore heads; these books are great for kids in that they teach moral lessons in engrossing, entertaining yarns about the Bear family of Bear Country. The lessons are not rammed into kids' faces. Stan and Jan were more skillful storytellers than that.

For example, in The Big Election Papa Bear runs for mayor. He wins handily...and is remained by a bunch of citizens the next day to make sure to keep his promises! Thus Stan and Jan taught kids with lounge-in-cheek how politicians promise a lot but have a hard time keeping them. Another subtle lesson they taught concerns the price of stubbornness. Brother Bear becomes sick in Trouble At School and has such a good time that he skips homework Sister Bear brought him. This gets a grade of "Very poor. Must be signed by parent."  

Right after this, Brother Bear skips school and winds up hanging out with Gramps and Gran Bear. Gramps does not scold Brother Bear for what he has done. Instead, he shows Brother Bear a wagon he was driving as a young man now stuck in a swamp. He was so stubborn, he confesses, that he did not know when to stop. The result was a stuck wagon. Brother sees his point and soon he is doing good at school again. I cheered the Bears when things like that happened. The only thing that puzzled me was how Papa Bear was not as smart as Mama Bear. Looking back, they were almost like a version of Clark and Ellen Griswold.

If you have a kid who is getting into reading, try a Berenstain Bears book on them. Stan and Jan just might get another fan!

Image courtesy Wikimedia.