Review: The Berenstain Bears Bless Our Gramps & Gran by Mike Berenstain

BLESS OUR GRAMPS & GRAN

The Berenstain Bears Living Light Series

by Mike Berenstain

Zondervan

Picture Book

ages 4 to 8

24 pages

In The Berenstain Bears Bless Our Gramps and Gran, the newest title in The Berenstain Bears Living Lights series, Mama, Papa, and the cubs decide it’s high time they honor Grizzly Gramps and Gran.

It’s almost Grandparents Day and the Bear family has never celebrated this special day before. So working as a team, the cubs, with a little help from Mama and Papa, come up with a fun and creative way to show Gramps and Gran just how much they are loved and appreciated. 

MY TIDBITS

This isn't only a tale with the familiar Berenstain flair but also a gentle creative shove to glide into Grandparents Day (which is the first Sunday after Labor Day and recognized as a National Holiday since 1978).

The young bears are bored. It's raining outside--so much so that they've pulled out their Noah's arc set--but they've already played with that and don't know what to do next. Mama and Papa remind them that Grandparents Day is nearing and, perhaps, they could use the time to come up with a way to celebrate for the first time.

As in all the Berenstain Bear books, family wholesomeness radiates off of the pages. This is a loving, kind family but by no means perfect either. The young bears idea to play Noah's arc with the rain is cute while remaining subtle, and the bears' reaction to the suggestion of doing homework is something every kid will completely understand. It's a natural scene, which could take part in any household. The author does a great job of weaving in the meaning of Grandparents Day without ever letting it slide into a text book description. The bears' thoughts of their Grandparents inspire the reader to recognize what their own grandparents to for them, insuring warm fuzzy feelings. By the end, the desire to do something for ones own grandparents is gently planted in the mind and is sure to lead young readers to want to do something for their own gramps and gran. 

The illustrations are as natural as the tale. They are bright without being too bold and draw in with movement on every page. There are enough details to keep kids coming back to look again without spilling into the danger of being over-whelming.

This is a great book to hand to kids ages 4 and up, which is sure to kindle those grandkid emotions. And this is especially a good book to read about one or two weeks before Grandparents Day.



I received this book as a complimentary copy from Booklook for Bloggers (http://www.booklookbloggers.com) and enjoyed it enough to leave my honest thoughts and opinions.