The Berenstain Bears and the Tic-Tac-Toe Mystery

by Stan Berenstain, Jan Berenstain

Tic-Tac-Tom wins every game of tic-tac-toe he plays. He even has a shirt that says "Tic-Tac-Tom The World's Greatest Tic-Tac-Toe Player"! Brother, Sister, Cousin Fred, and Lizzy Bruin wonder if Tom might be up to some sneaky tricks. With careful investigation and a little help from Dr. Wise Old Owl, they just might get to the bottom of the tic-tac-toe mystery.

Genres: Picture Books, Childrens, Fiction

48 pages, Paperback

First published February 1, 2001

About the author

Stan and Jan Berenstain (often called The Berenstains) were American writers and illustrators best known for creating the children's book series the Berenstain Bears. Their son Mike Berenstain joined them as a creative team in the late 1980s.

Reviews

[Daniel · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's a pre-proselytizing Berenstain Bears book, so it already has that in its corner. This particular book deals with tic-tac-toe, though, and shows how the game is essentially a coin-flip to determine the winner. That's almost enough to push it into the top rating, but the narrative stops just short of greatness by leave tic-tac-toe on the table as a game that should be played, rather than offering any number of better pen-and-paper games.

[Amber Jones · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is about a tic tac toe winner who wins no matter who he is against so the players come get the help of the Bear Detectives. No one could tell how he was winning or was it cheating? Brother Bear played against him and Tic Tac Tom still won. The only one who realized what was going on was Dr. Wise Old Owl who said to them to focus on the words Tom says. Tom was cheating he was saying heads I win tails you lose. They caught the cheater so the lesson is to not cheat.

[Rosa Cline · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was an interesting Berenstain Bear book. A mystery book of sorts, to introduce young readers to mysteries. Although the answer to the mystery was kind of 'odd'...and I myself had to reread it to fully understand their logic behind it. But then I laughed... :) If you like Berenstain Bears books then you'll enjoy these mystery books.

[♥ Susan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Found this a little too difficult to understand for the age range it is aimed at. My older son would "get it", but it is far below his reading level. Not just in an academic or ability sense, but the whole story.

[Alia GoinHam]

this book was a mystery tails i win heads u lose

[Gretchen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not the best example of being honest as the bear in question never apologizes! I would categorize this as more like a mystery, rather than a lesson on integrity or honesty.

[Kirsten Swanson · Rating 5 out of 5]

loved it for the kids

[Joy Gerbode · Rating 4 out of 5]

Berenstain Bears are always a good read ... this one was, perhaps, a little juvenile, but for the brand new readers would be a fun story.