The Berenstain Bears' New Baby

This book has been around at least 35 years. That's when I first bought it to introduce the concept of a new baby to my almost-two-year-old son. He loved the book, and he in turn loved his new baby sister from the moment he first held her. (He was the first one to hold her -- sitting in the rocking chair -- when she and Mommy came home from the hospital.) Our copy is long gone, so I bought a copy recently to give to my wife's daughter, who is pregnant with her second child. The book did the trick in our family, and I have every expectation it will do the trick in hers. "The trick"? Introduce a new baby and eliminate any and all first-born jealousies or bad feelings toward the new little "intruder." Get the first-born involved with age-appropriate caring for the little one, and build a sense of pride in the newborn. The book is a delightful story, which my almost-two-year-old loved hearing over and over again, even (maybe even more) after his little sister left "Mommy's tummy" and was home to stay. Thirty-five years later, my son and daughter are still "best friends." Do I give ALL the credit to the book? 'Course not. But that's where it all started.

I love this book! It is a genuine classic--one of the early Berenstain Bears books. It is cute and innocent and a very good way to introduce the idea of a new baby coming into the family for very young children. There may be more sophisticated books which would be better for older kids, but for younger children, this is perfect.

My two-and-a-half-year-old son enjoys this book. Yes, it does leave a lot of aspects out, but it's a short story, just long enough for a young child to sit and listen to. If you are OK with some stereotyping then go ahead and get this book. I have made sure to explain to my son that these are some out-dated ideas and things are different nowadays!

This is book is good for small children, who need to understand how a new baby will change their life without being saddled with details on labor, delivery and pregnancy. To those who expect more, get another book... this one was written in the early 80s, when such things were as openly discussed as they are now. Most fathers didnt go into the delivery room at the time. Besides, they're BEARS not people. Also, to the people who find the gender-role things askew, come on... again, this was not written in this decade... yes it is dated, but I personally don't WANT my kids reading a whole lot of details on the process. Last, some complain that the child would have to be stupid to not notice mama's changing shape... not necessarily. A very small child would only notice such a thing when it effects them (hence mama's lap getting too small).

We bought several books for my two-year old son to prepare him for our new baby. This book does a nice job talking about transitions, specifically growing up and needing a new, larger bed. My son identifies with that, and he likes the story (especially how Papa Bear uses tools to build the new bed). The new baby shows up at the very end of this story, so admittedly, that is not the main focus of this book. (The book might be better titled, "The Berenstain Bears' New Bed".) If you want a book that gives your child details on a new baby (what happens at the hospital, how to breastfeed, how to help take care of it, etc.), then you obviously need to buy a different book. But you probably want to get multiple books on the 'new baby' theme, and this one fits in nicely.