GO GET SOME HONEY. GO GET SOME MORE. GO GET SOME HONEY FROM THE HONEY STORE: Writer/illustrator Jan Berenstain, who met her late husband Stan at their first day of class in 1941 at what's now Philadelphia's University of the Arts, is now permanently hibernating with their Bears as well. She was 88.
Charles Krauthammer did not much care for their books, some 260 million of which have been sold, writing in 1989: "It is not just the smugness and complacency of the stories that is so irritating. That is a common affliction of children's literature. The raging offense of the Berenstains is the post-feminist Papa Bear, the Alan Alda of grizzlies, a wimp so passive and fumbling he makes Dagwood Bumstead look like Batman."
One of my eighth grade students told me recently (like within the last week) that one of his primary grade teachers once told him that the Berenstain Bears were evil, and that s/he (I can't remember now) would explain when he (the student) turned 21. Maybe this is what the teacher was talking about.
ReplyDeleteI rarely agree with Dr. K, but I do agree about the Papa/Mama dynamic. It's really offensive. Otherwise, I like the books just fine.
ReplyDeleteIt's the epitome of the oafish feeble sitcom father/husband we've all grown to despise on shows like According to Jim and Everybody Loves Raymond.
ReplyDeleteAw, I loved the Berenstain Bears when I was a kid. (I'm pretty sure I still have a stack of them in a box somewhere.) I'm not really a big nature person, but I always wanted to live in their treehouse -- it was cooler than Punky Brewster's and the one in the Swiss Family Robinson.
ReplyDeleteNot a fan. We own only one of their books - the one about the first day of school. In its short length, it manages to impart the "math is hard" crap and the concept of bullies, along with terrifying my kid that while first grade might be fun, second grade is slightly less pleasant than being waterboarded. Basically, all things that are fun are denigrated as "babyish" and school is something to be dreaded. Funny, we seem to have lost that book somewhere. Wonder how that happened.
ReplyDeleteThat said, the Berenstains clearly brought a lot of people a lot of joy, and I hope Mrs. B had a wonderful life. She will be missed by many, many children and the grownups they became.
They've gotten distinctly worse since the mid-90s, too. At least in the early ones Mama was competent at managing the kids and household (and I somewhat disagree on Papa. He has a tendency to bluster and to jump to conclusions, so he does fit the stereotypes somewhat, but you get the sense he's both a decent provider and has some moral authority over the kids). Among the later books, however:
ReplyDelete* The family won't help with chores, so Mama goes on strike. This results in the family stepping over dog feces in the living for weeks and a bathroom full of Serratia-ridden shower curtains and hideous millipede-like creatures until Papa and the kids realize that if they picked up a broom just once, all would be well!
* The kids don't feel like going to bed, so Mama and Papa cater to their every whim, read them separate books in response to their whining, and eventually fall asleep in chairs while the children run amok all night long.
* Papa and the kids decide to give Mama a Mother's Day surprise. Mama is certain they won't be able to pull it off so she secretly obtains all the things they will need for the surprise. But Mama's the one in for the surprise -- when the family cleans the kitchen after they cook her breakfast in bed! It's all she ever wanted!
* And then, of course, there's the new line of Berenstain Bears books explaining to kids how awesome Jesus is.
If a bear is smart/if a bear is clever/he never gives up/and I won't EVER!
ReplyDeleteMy 3 year old loves the Honey Hunt. We don't have any of the "new" bears books (with Sister bear), but we have a few of the old ones that my husband's parents kept from when he was a kid. I don't know how many there are, but the ones we have are all the exact same story: Dad is stupid.
Charles K is a noted troll, but I would absolutely watch Alan Alda as Batman. The books are fine and for me had that local interest. I liked Brother Bear, the little scamp.
ReplyDeleteWHY CAN'T YOU HORRIBLE PEOPLE JUST LET US TAKE A MOMENT TO GRIEVE, YOU ASSHOLES?
ReplyDeleteI was not expecting that comment and nearly choked on my lunch, I laughed so hard.
ReplyDeleteThis is a nice way for sharing thoughts
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Don't miss one of the more recent books, The Berenstain Bears' New Neighbors. When a family of pandas moves in next door, Papa Bear's true colors as a stone-cold racist are revealed.
ReplyDeleteSeriously.