The Berenstain Bears Christmas Tree

This was my son's favorite Christmas book when he was growing up. I ordered this new one for a first grade class. There have been some additions which, because I KNOW the original, detract from the text. However, it is essentially the same beautiful message and the wonderful artwork is essentially the same. I still recommend this book though the buyer should be aware of the additions.

This book came quickly and was completely as expected. In very good shape as was described.

The Berenstain Bears are funny to me. A friend once pointed out to me that Ma Bear is always the one who makes the right choice and Pa Bear always seem to go his own way--which is often a foolish way at first, but then he learns a lesson in the process of the story--along with brother and sister bear. Sometimes I think I get a little too critical of books and the message in them--essentially cynical. This thought occurred to me today: I wondered how I would feel if it was the Ma Bear making the foolish choice in this story? The plot hinges around someone (really everyone) learning more about and remembering the true spirit of Christmas--the joy of Christ--Giving, not Getting. In this story, Pa Bear takes the cubs out to find a tree. He doesn't want to buy the same old tree from the same lot everyone else has bought theirs from. No, he wants to go into the forest to find his own perfect tree for Christmas. In the process, he remembers that Christmas is about giving, not getting. There is no mention of Jesus in this tale of Christmas and only once is God mentioned directly. When I read it, I will talk to my children about the story and that the spirit of Christmas is the joy of Christmas (which is what the story is about)--that Jesus came to the world for us and that He loves us. I will talk about the real Christmas star that shone over Bethlehem when Jesus was born. But, this story is a sweet story to share with your children as you get ready to decorate your tree or as you sit around and enjoy it. There is a warmth in our homes that comes with Christmas decorations. There are good memories and the love we have for our families that we remember. I have wanted a book that I could sit and read with my children that would express these things to them. We have a lot of books about the nativity. So, it's good that this book is different. Reading it makes me smile. As a side note, this copy is especially nice because it is a larger hardback book about the size of a sheet of paper (but it's not too thick) and will be able to stand up to many years of packing, unpacking, and reading together. It's a nice size to sit around reading so everyone can see the pictures.

I used to read this story to my kids every year at Christmas. One year by accident we really went out onto a tree farm in the snow to look for and cut down the perfect tree. The story kept playing through my head. Delightful, fun, the kids loved it.

When I was little, my mom used to read this book to us every Christmas season. It is about how the family goes looking for the perfect tree, but every one they look at already has an animal family living in it. It is full of wonderful pictures and it touches the heart. I loved to look at the different Christmas trees the bear family wanted to buy. It is a wonderful book to teach kids the true meaning of Christmas!