He Bear, She Bear

A great rhyming Berenstain Bears book for young readers, it teaches the difference between he and she and it also teaches about equality of sexes, how both girls and boys can do practically anything regardless of their sex except for being a dad or a mom: "Dad's a he/mom's a she/those are things/that we could be/just because we're he and she./But there are other things to be...." It also teaches kids that they can do anything they want: "be a doctor/make folks well/teach kids how to add and spell..." and can be a first approach to professions. All in all, a great buy. My 3 y.o. son enjoys this book very much, and it's not very long so it's a good option for when you don't feel like reading a longer story...

My kid has totally fallen in love with this book. The illustrations are great and he looks at every little detail. He is only 17 months old, so I doubt if he understands the concept, but he likes to read this book. He points to the He Bear and says papa and the She Bear and says Mama! There is enough to keep him engaged for 15 mins. I would love it if it were a board book.

Our son and daughter, ages five and three, have been pulling this book off the shelves at least a couple times each month over the past two years. It still appeals to them because the characters imagine themselves participating in many exciting activities such as flying a jet, making a mess or 'taming twelve tigers.' Gender issues are just one aspect of this fast paced, wide ranging book.

Both me and my girls love this book, and it has had an amazing effect on their understanding of what is what in life. My girls at time of writing this are 2 and nearly 4 - and they have got to grips with the concept of what is he and she but also what it means. It has helped explain to (well at least to the 4 year old) that only men are he and women are she - but that pretty much everything is open to them from there on in. I really like that in a book. It is a fun poem with brightly coloured illustrations - and the wonderfully rounded Berenstain Bears which they evolved in their later illustrations. Nice book for 2 and Up I would say. (I do love most of the Berenstain books by the way and so do my kids)

This book provided a good starting point for my 2-year old about a number of things - differentiating between male and female, various kinds of jobs people can have, how rhyming works. It's politically correct without being preachy - and she likes it!