Book Talk Tuesday - 贝贝熊系列 (Berenstain Bears)

One of the 'classics' (to us at least), that I enjoy reading with Dumpling when she was young is the Berenstain Bears series. too. First written in 1962 by husband and wife team - Stan and Jan Berenstain, the story is based on a family of four - Sister Bear, Brother Bear, Papa Bear and Mama Bear. It depicts the daily lives of a typical family but importantly, its stories always add on a moral or safety element.

While Dumpling and I have read the English versions, we have purchased the Chinese versions instead as part of daily Chinese reads. 

For the Chinese version, one thing which stood out for me is unlike some translated titles which I have come across, the illustrations are sometimes left as they are - with 'labels' and 'road signs' etc., in English. However, as you can see below, Bear Kingdom and School were both translated.

The titles in this series are vast and ranges across a broad spectrum of 'parenting' concerns and issues - from The Berenstain Bears and Too Much TV to The Berenstain Bears Visit the Dentist; from The Berenstain Bears Learn about Strangers to teaching the little ones about not being too frivolous with money in The Berenstain Bears' Trouble with Money, etc. 

Each page is still kept quite short with about 5 - 6 lines with the illustrations still covering most of the pages. This is great at keeping the children engaged.

The series shares very true concerns of children (depicted by Sister Bear and Brother Bear) and adults alike (by Mama Bear and Papa Bear). But what it does is that it also adds on a positive angle to new experiences such as Sister Bear below being worried about going to school and eventually, her enjoyable experience there.

What I like about this series is that the issues faced are often 'true' and that it is heartwarming and funny; with Mama Bear being the rational and patient parent who sometimes also has to put up with...

Papa Bear's antics and bad habits. In the picture below (The Berenstain Bears and Too Much TV) Papa Bear was as addicted to the TV as the kids! :)

This is certainly another series which you can consider for explaining various tricky issues / concerns with the kids. And we definitely would recommend the Chinese series as an additional exposure to the language too. :)

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