The Berenstain Bears and the Trouble with Chores [With Press-Out Berenstain Bears]

I've read them since I was achild, now my girls read them. How fun! Grat lessons to be learned in them all!

I love all the Berenstein Bears books. They can provide a good starting point for a conversation with your child. Don't look to these books for answers on how to handle a problem. They aren't meant for that. In this one, we see what happens when Mama gets tired of everyone else avoiding their chores, so she avoids hers, too. Once the others see what the house is like, they start to pitch in to help. This book started a good discussion between me and my 7 year old about what chores are and why we should do them. We talked about Mama Bear's feelings when Papa and the cubs didn't do their chores. We also talked about what happened to the tree house when Mama quit doing her chores and how that made everyone else feel. These are great books for reading anytime and are easy for my child to read alone and understand.

This book is great and shows what can happen if we don't all pitch in and do our share. It was fair for Mama Bear to just say screw it and go relax and have fun. She was working her butt off and needed a break. When Papa and the Cubs didn't have her to do all their work, they had to do it themselves and it had piled up horribly. Brother was upset that he lost his marbles but instead of giving in to his whining Mama just told them they pry in the vacuum. Like saying if he had picked them up that would never have happened. Same with sister's gripe.

The Berenstain Bears give children some of the very best stories they will ever read. I grew up with these enjoyable bears in the late 80's, and I really think parents should consider buying a few of these books for their children because they are a lot of fun. One of my favorite moments ever in a Berenstain Bears book is when the bears are riding a bike down a dirt road, and they come across a big mud puddle. They try to ride through it but instead they sink! That moment influenced me to go outside during rainstorms as a child and try to find the biggest puddle to see if I too will sink! Of course walking back inside the house all muddy made my parents angry but that's what being a kid is all about! I also believe many dreams I've had years later (and continue to have to this day) about setting out on an adventure were a result of my childhood obsession with these books.

My little one loves the Berenstain Bears so when I saw this one, I grabbed it through a book club. It talks about how the cubs always want to get out of doing their chores, as well as Papa bear (he doesn't want to mow the lawn because a mama spider just got finished making a web on his lawnmower!) and they make up all sorts of excuses as to why they cannot do them. So for awhile, Mama decides that instead of hearing all the bickering, arguing and excuse making, that it would just be easier if she did them herself. However, she eventually gives in to her family when they ask to stop doing chores. Mama starts her gardening and quilting clubs again and the treehouse falls into a total mess. Even a milipede comes chasing Sister in the bathtub, there's dust and doggie doo-doo everywhere, wet, moldy towels and shower curtains, and a sink full of dishes covered in flies! Yuck! This book gives a great example of what happens when folks don't want to do their chores around the house. It very clearly paints a vivid picture of how important all of our responsibilities are both to the things we own and to each other as family members. As always, the Berenstains teach a very valuble lesson. (This book is also particularly great to hand over to all the dads to read!) Highly recommend!