The Berenstain Bears and the Bad Dream

We expanded our collection of Berenstain Bears books this Christmas. Our sons, ages 6 and 4, enjoy these books and find it easy to relate to the young bears in the series. I like to mix these stories into our rotation of bedtime books as the need arises. That's how I came to buy "The Berenstain Bears and the Bad Dream." This past year has been an especially hard on the boys. All of the superhero movies they wanted to see - Iron Man and Incredible Hulk and The Dark Knight - were not appropriate for their age. I mention this because at the heart of this book is brother bear's desire to see "Space Grizzlies," a movie that leads to the titular bad dream. So, this book helped illustrate why I didn't want my sons to see PG- or PG-13-rated movies. This book hasn't stopped my sons from having bad dreams but it has become a useful resource that helps us talk through what causes bad dreams and why the dreams themselves can't hurt us. We also own and recommend: The Berenstain Bears and the Trouble with Chores The Berenstain Bears Help Around the House The Berenstain Bears Forget Their Manners The Berenstain Bears Get in a Fight The Berenstain Bears Learn About Strangers

This book has the advantage of both being really funny and really helpful. The story about a movie featuring "Space Grizzlies" is hilarious, while the lesson about how to deal with and understand the bad dreams that the movie can inspire is genuinely helpful.

This book really should be owned by every child, it's really that good! It's very hysterical in places and it's really the favorite of all the Berenstain Bears books we have. The book talks about the day the bear kids have, what they do, etc. However, when they go to bed, sister is first to have a nightmare so mama and papa explain to her what it's all about - just her brain mixing up all the events of the day. Then brother does and when he explains his dream, it's just really, really funny! It's one of those stories that kids never forget and it helps them so very much. Especially when Brother's dream is explained and it shows how very weird dreams can be. Awesome book, a loved very much favorite in this house. Highly, highly, highly recommend!

This book shows that bad dreams may be scary but there is a reason behind them.

The world lost a real gem of a writer when Stan Berenstain passed on November 29. Together, Berenstain and his wife, Jan, and eventually their two sons, created books featuring lovable but flawed characters who tackle just about every real issue that faces families. All kids will experience their first nightmare at some point, hopefully later than sooner. This book is a great way to open up a dialogue with a kid who has had a nightmare. Like all of the Berenstain Bears books, it's not intended to provide a child with coping skills, but rather to help open up a line of conversation wherein the parent can help the child directly. It's simply a fable, an outline, a conversation starter. And it's a wonderful one.