Review of 'The Berenstain Bears Caring and Sharing Treasury' 5 Books in 1 by Jan and Mike Berenstain

I am not normally a fan of the Berenstain bears however these five books in one I do quite like.  The five books included are:

Jobs Around Town:  This is the brother and sister bear looking at all the different jobs people have, questioning what do you think you will be?  It's a fun story.  It kept my three year olds attention throughout.

Get Involved: I really liked the theme of this one - helping.  I think it's an important concept to train kids in, to help, but for no other reason, than to help because you care. The concept of looking out for others and being willing to jump in when needed is a vital one in society. I like that this has been addressed in this story.

Love Their Neighbor:   This story is like a version of the Good Samaritan from the Bible.  It also touches on how you can't judge people based on their appearances either.  Another important thing to learn in society.  It's very easy to judge others and also easy for people to put up false appearances.

Gossip Gang: Another important one, not just for children.  It tells of how harmful it is to talk about others behind their back and spread information about others.  How it seems harmless at the time but as the Bible says, the tongue is like a fire.

The Biggest Brag: This story is just ok.  It's about brother and sister always trying to top each other and being very competitive and bragging about their successes.  The climax of the story is when they were trying to beat each other at seeing amazing shapes in the clouds and then they were reprimanded by their gramps.  They were told by their gramps that it comes from pride.

At the very end of the book there is a Question and Activities page for each of the five books.

Overall, I think this is a great set of books and I would definitely recommend it.  The messages contained are important and relevant to children. The illustrations match the text well.  The themes are Biblical.

Please note that I was sent a copy of this book for purposes of review, however this review is entirely my own.