The Berenstain Bears Learn About Strangers
The Berenstain Bears Learn About Strangers book cover

The Berenstain Bears Learn About Strangers

Staple Bound – Picture Book, August 12, 1985

by
Price
$5.99
Publisher
Random House Books for Young Readers
Publication Date
ISBN-13
978-0394873343
Dimensions
8 x 0.14 x 8 inches
Weight
2.88 ounces

Description

From School Library Journal Kindergarten-Grade 2 The familiar Berenstain bear family may help to make a scary subject easier to bear. Brother discourages extrovert Sister from greeting every stranger she meets. Papa tells his children the rules for safe conduct among strangers. After Sister sees the headlines about missing cubs, she over-reacts, seeing every stranger as a threat. This is conveyed by a full-page spread: the top half shows reality, the bottom half shows Sister's scary version. Mama explains the concept of the bad apples in every barrel, literally. A funny looking apple is fine on the inside, but a perfect looking apple is bad on the inside. Finally, the attraction of a toy almost causes usually cautious Brother to go for a ride with a stranger. Sister isn't tattling when she tells her parents, she's just concerned for Brother's safety. The bears' rules are listed on the last page, including one about the privacy of a bear's body, a topic not discussed in the text. A good book to start awareness in young children. Elise Wendel, Orchard Road School, Skillman, N.J.Copyright 1986 Reed Business Information, Inc. From the Inside Flap When Papa Bear tells the cubs why they should never talk to strangers, Sister begins to view all strangers as evil until Mama brings some common sense to the problem. "The Bears' rules for safe conduct among strangers are listed on the last pages, including a rule about the privacy of a bear's body. A good book to start awareness in young children."-- School Library Journal. When Papa Bear tells the cubs why they should never talk to strangers, Sister begins to view all strangers as evil until Mama brings some common sense to the problem. "The Bears' rules for safe conduct among strangers are listed on the last pages, including a rule about the privacy of a bear's body. A good book to start awareness in young children."--"School Library Journal. 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 360 Berenstain Bears books have been published, and more than 300 million copies have been sold. What began as an idea sparked by their young sons' love of reading has become one of the best-selling children's book series ever. Read more

Features & Highlights

  • This classic Berenstain Bears story is a perfect way to teach children about strangers and good decision-making!
  • Come for a visit in Bear Country with this classic First Time Book® from Stan and Jan Berenstain. Sister has gotten into a bad habit of talking to strangers, and now it’s up to Papa, Mama, and Brother to show her the important rules of safety. Includes a list of Brother and Sister’s Rules for Cubs and over 50 bonus stickers!

Customer Reviews

Rating Breakdown

★★★★★
60%
(1.4K)
★★★★
25%
(584)
★★★
15%
(350)
★★
7%
(163)
★
-7%
(-163)

Most Helpful Reviews

✓ Verified Purchase

Message a little too severe

We have a large collection of Berenstain Bears books and love most of them. I wasn't such a fan of this one though. It really inculcates the rule that you never talk to strangers. We have a gregarious child who's growing up in a city, who loves engaging with all kinds of people and starting conversations. That's a spark I want to encourage, while making him mindful of boundaries and instilling an appropriate level of caution. I thought the very black-and-white message about not speaking with strangers was a little too stark for my taste. I don't think we'll be reading this one again because I don't want him to start becoming fearful of people or rude to those who simply are trying to be friendly. We also recently got "A Little Book About Safety" and I prefer that one, it has a little more nuance (while still being 4-year-old appropriate).
56 people found this helpful
✓ Verified Purchase

Learning About Strangers

This is a good book. My 5 year old son enjoyed the story, and the lessons that I wanted to convey about strangers (what is a stranger, stranger rules, etc.) were covered very well. The story shows how one can become too afraid as well as how one can be lured into leaving with a stranger. Children learn to be careful without being paranoid. Children also learn that "telling" is not the same as being a "tattletell".
We have enjoyed all 8 books that we purchased from this collection.
53 people found this helpful
✓ Verified Purchase

Great book for teaching your little ones about strangers!

I have to laugh at the parents out there who find this book too serious for their children. Human trafficking is real, as are kidnappers and pedafiles and other sorts of creeps that will not think twice about harming your child. Millions of children are being preyed upon, and it is estimated that 2 children are sold every minutes (according to 146.org and the Polaris Project). 2 CHILDREN ARE SOLD EVERY MINUTE (just in case you missed that horrific fact). So, before you say to yourself, geeeeee, I really don't want to frighten my child, think about what happens to children all over the world and in the U.S., and I'm certain you will want to teach your children the dangers strangers can be. Knowledge is power, even for your little ones.

I think this book does a terrific job of introducing children to the idea of strangers.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E2s_ICFUVfk#t=38
http://love146.org/
http://www.polarisproject.org/
34 people found this helpful
✓ Verified Purchase

Excellent Way to Open The Discussion...

...about the danger of strangers. I have read this book to all three of my children, and they have definitely learned the value of caution. A nice feature is that the book shows, in a non-scary, friendly way, how scary the subject of strangers can be to children, but how talking it over can help allay those fears. The book also shows how a child's excitement over a stranger showing a common interest or offering goodies to the child can override the child's basic caution. I highly recommend this book for the collection of anyone who wishes to keep their child(ren) safe.
32 people found this helpful
✓ Verified Purchase

Absolute best way to teach kids not to judge a person by their looks. And not assume that a nice looking person is safe.

Best book, hands down, I've ever found (past or present) that explains stranger danger in the most constructive way without scaring a child. I cannot stress enough how this book should be in every child's library. It's the smartest way to explain why we have to be careful. It makes way more sense, for any age (child or adult) on how to explain why we need to be careful with strangers, while pointing out that being careful doesn't equal all strangers are evil. More of you can't tell who is bad and who is good just by how they look - or even act. They take the example of an apple. A beautiful apple looks yummy. When you cut it in half, there may be a worm in there. You simply cannot know by looks alone before they opened up the apple. And they showed that a disfigured apple that looks weird is actually perfectly fine inside, no worm, and tastes yummy! This is just a high level of the book. I wish every parent would read this book to their child from the time they are three and continue to do so for years.
26 people found this helpful
✓ Verified Purchase

Addresses an Important and difficult topic.

I have 2 children - a girl (2) who loves everyone and a boy (4) who is scared of everyone. How do I teach her to be cautious without having to loose her charm? How do I teach him to be friendly without being cautious, too? This book addresses it all. Sister Bear has one personality, Brother has the other. In the end, brother is tempted by a stranger and Sister steps in. It addresses stranger danger better than any other source I have seen. I really feel this is a must-have book for every parent and child.
22 people found this helpful
✓ Verified Purchase

Good lesson without being too scary...

A good book to teach your child about the danger of talking to strangers while also not being too scary. My three year old enjoys this book. We've read it many times now. Brother Bear and Sister Bear have very different personalities, making them relatable to both shy and very friendly kids. I like Momma Bear's comparison of strangers to a barrel of apples; that most are good, but there are always a couple of "bad apples" in every barrel and she cuts two apples open, showing you can't always tell the "bad apples" from the ourside. When my friendly daughter began introducing herself to parents at the playground using her full name, I knew it was time to address the stranger issue, but I also don't want to scare her. It's a tough line to balance, and this book does a good job of it. I have older children and most of their little-kid books were gone by the time my now-three-year-old came along, because of an age gap. This was one of the few books, other than the classics, that I felt I needed to re-buy. We are more about the library than buying books, but some lessons need repetition and while I want to keep my little one friendly, I also need her to understand the danger of strangers.
15 people found this helpful
✓ Verified Purchase

The book is wonderful and talks about the fact that most people are ...

I purchased this book hoping it would help my children learn about how to safely interact with strangers. The book is wonderful and talks about the fact that most people are kind and friendly, but you have to be on your guard just in case there is someone with ill intent (it alludes to kidnapping and scaring children, but that is as far as it goes). The book does state the Bear family's rule is "Never talk to a stranger," which my children have immediately taken to heart, something I am not thrilled about. My children now do not dare talk to someone who walks by our house or who says "Hello" to them in the grocery store. I would still recommend the book, but would also recommend that you chat with your children before reading it about the fact that it is OK to say a friendly "Hello" to a stranger when they are in a safe environment.
11 people found this helpful
✓ Verified Purchase

Teaching my 4 and 3 year olds about strangers

My daughter is just getting old enough to really learn about strangers. She and her younger brother are identical to brother and sister bear: he is apprehensive of new people, and she LOVES talking to anyone/everyone. Strangers is a tricky lesson to teach, just like they discuss in the book, because it's easy to make children scared of everyone. I love how it explains that most people are generally good people, but that we have to be careful for the "bad apples" and that you can't always tell bad apples from the outside. It even comes with a list of rules regarding strangers at the end. We've added to the list a bit, and explained that she can talk to strangers when Mommy or Daddy are there, and that she can still be kind to everyone, and it's ok to accept gifts as long as we say it's ok.
We can now make a point to explain that sometimes a character in a movie seems good, but is really a "bad apple," so they have to be extra careful. (A great example of this in Frozen)
9 people found this helpful
✓ Verified Purchase

Scary & confusing, I can’t imagine any age group that this book would be good for

I hoped this book would open up conversations with my 4 year old about being cautious in many public situations. I’m so glad I read it by myself first.
There are so many negatives about this book.
-judges sister for being “friendly to a fault”
-makes it seem as if saying “hi” as you pass someone in the park with your family is a major no-no. Really?
- papa bear tries to scare sister by rattling off things that she should never do then showing her terrible things that can happen using the newspaper
-papa reads the kids a bedtime story about a fox who kills a goose which proceeds to give sister nightmares then causes her to imagine every stranger as an evil villain looking character.

I could go on but you get the idea....

There was no concrete, helpful information in this book or suggestions of what to do instead if you are approached or feel uncomfortable with a stranger.

This book is just completely useless, wordy, dated and scary.

Try Super Duper Safety school by Pattie Fitzgerald instead!
7 people found this helpful

Related Books