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Bear Country Online |
BOOK REVIEW |
The
Berenstain Bears and Baby Makes Five
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Good book that stands out among recent Berenstain Bears releases It has been my concern and
the concern of other critics and fans of the Berenstain
Bears that over the past number of the year, quality has yielded to quantity
as we have seen an explosion of titles from Stan and Jan Berenstain
but less substantive topics and quality illustrations (The Berenstain Bears Baby Bear Board Books, Jellybean Books,
and titles like "The Berenstain Bears and the
Mad, Mad, Mad Toy Craze" are examples). And just when you thought
they had pulled out all the stops in trying to derive even heftier profits by
adding a new member to the family, it turns out that planning and care went
into the creation of this book and it stands out among recent Berenstain Bears releases. The book, along with the
prequel titled "The Birds, the Bees, and the Berenstain
Bears," published earlier this year, was intended to address many of the
issues that were neglected in the classic "Berenstain
Bears New Baby." Thankfully, Stan and Jan have done a fine job and my
faith (though only wavering slightly) in this series is once again strong. I do encourage parents and
children to check out this title as it does illustrate the challenges
associated with jealously many kids may feel when attention is suddenly
focused upon a new infant. Stan and Jan have said themselves that they have
been considering this book for a long time and I think this shows itself
positively--thought and energy has been put into this title and I wish that
the Berenstain family might consider this
correlation in the future. You can't rush art, and
with over 30 new titles in the past two years, some might say the Berenstain Bears were/are being sacrificed in this
nature. Whatever your opinions on the topic, The Berenstain
Bears and Baby Makes Five is a good book and one you should definitely add to
your Bears collection. |
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