Bears on Wheels

The Berenstain Bears Bright & Early

by Stan Berenstain, Jan Berenstain

As the gradually increasing number of bears on wheels adds up through all kinds of combinations and permutations, beginning readers are offered a unique counting book, courtesy of the Berenstains.

Genres: Picture Books, Childrens, Fiction, Counting, Animals, Mathematics, Transport

36 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1969

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

[Calista · Rating 3 out of 5]

A tripped-out Berenstain Bears counting book for very young children. It is very simple and perfectly written with the 3-5 year old in mind.

This is before Stan and Jan started the 80s bears, so the beloved bear characters really aren't in this one.

The 4 year old liked this book.

[Stacy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good for beginning readers

[Erik Dryden · Rating 2 out of 5]

I had high expectations for this book. Bears and wheels make for an intriguing combination. However, though I knew there were bears on wheels, I didn't believe there were bears on wheels. Also, instead of letting these bears show the readers that they were on wheels, the authors insisted on constantly telling us that these bears were on wheels. All in all, an utter disappointment.

[John Yelverton · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of my all time favorite books as a child.

[SarahC · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is a fun and funny method of learning to count for a small child! Cute expressions on the bears in the illustrations!

[Tamera Fleming · Rating 5 out of 5]

1) Book summary: A cute simple counting book with the bears trying to see how many they can fit on a bike. There are one bike with one wheel and another bike with tens wheel. Eventually everyone falls off execpt baby bear as she heads home.

2) Grade level, interest level, lexile : Grade level preschool to 2nd grade, the interest level is 3 to 7 years old, and the lexile is not avaiable but the DRA is 6.

3) Appropriate classroom use (subject area): Reading block period

4) Individual students who might benefit from reading: Every child can benefit from learning how to count.

5) Small group use (literary circles): I could ask the students how many bears started on the first bike and how many bears ended on the bike at the end of the book.

6) Whole class use (read aloud) : I wouldn't use this as a whole class use.

7) Related books in genre/subject or content area : Bears in the night, and The big honey hut

8) Multimedia connections (audio book, movie) available: Hardcover, Paperback, Textbook binding

[midnightfaerie · Rating 3 out of 5]

A great educational book for your younger ones. My twin 3 yr old's loved it. Colorful fun pictures that helps get the child engaged and keeps them engaged. A great addition to any children's library.

[Sarah · Rating 5 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book as a child because I thought it was fun and silly. As an adult, I like it because of the basic math skills it teaches my child.

[Rachelolivia]

II

[Tyler Piers · Rating 5 out of 5]

Bears on wheels seem to drive better than the people of North Las Vegas. That suburb features drivers on substances while driving with no insurance. I think it’s a prerequisite to live there. I would rather drive on Lamb with 100 bears on unicycles than the normal reckless drivers you see daily. Bears on wheels far less likely to do a hit and run followed by a fist fight at the light. God Bless!

[Mitchell Friedman · Rating 4 out of 5]

Better than I remembered. A counting book. And a silly one. But it captures the Bear's world. The text is always good, much of the art is memorable. A mild twist at the end. Good spirited throughout.

[Bexx · Rating 4 out of 5]

4/5 ⭐️ great read from childhood found this and figured I’d read it. I loved the Berenstain Bears when I was younger.

[David Sarkies · Rating 2 out of 5]

And I end up talking about text messaging
18 November 2013

It seems as if the Berenstains can do no wrong, that is if their goal is to write a bunch of books with no plot whatsoever, yet are still entertaining, and in some ways amusing. Yes, I know, this is a kid's book, but shouldn't kid's books actually have a plot. Well, I guess it depends on the purpose of the kid's book. I guess the genius of these books is that they have no plot, but they teach children to read and they do it in a most entertaining way. I know that it is entertaining because I can remember as a kid I was really entertained by the books. In fact I loved the Dr Suess books (and really did not think all that much of the Little Golden books).

This story is about a bear on a monocycle and as he travels on his monocycle other bears jump onto him and then off of him, and as such it is simply a process of counting all the way through the book. By reading this books we are able to identify the words and the numbers that these words represent. I guess that is the essence of language, being able to understand the meaning of the words in a way that other people also understand them. I am sure we can easily make up our own languages (as Amy Ferra Fowler does in the Big Bang Theory – and I believe Sheldon Cooper has done it as well) but what is the point of constructing a language that nobody knows (unless that language is a computer language, and as long as a computer understands the language it is pointless whether anybody else understands it because that language is simply a way for you to communicate with a computer).

Some dude named Wittgenstein wrote a lot about language and sees it in a most unusual light. As far as Wittgenstein is concerned language is actually meaningless and the only reason language has meaning is because we attach meaning to it. Language developed as a means for us to communicate with each other, and as we seek to distinguish more things from other things, our languages grow ever more complex, but also as complexity develops, people are also lazy and end up simplifying it. As such we have new forms of language, such as the language used when sending text messages (though that has changed with smartphones where the phone can predict the word you want to use).

It was funny how many people got really upset at the use of text symbols replacing the English Language, but we must remember that this symbolic language is an organic development that allowed quick and easy communication with other people in a way that they can understand. With the awkwardness of writing a message on a mobile phone, a means of being able to do it quicker and simpler had to develop, and this, as I suggested, developed organically.

Gee, it looks like I have spiral off from a commentary on a children's book into a post-modernist view of language.

[Alex Hernandez · Rating 4 out of 5]

As a child, I read a lot of books contrary to what many of my friends would believe. Many children did nothing but read before the advent of video games and computers. But before I go on a rant about the absence of reading in children's life, I'll talk about this book, Bears on wheels, and the significance of it.

Spoilers fall below (not that there's much to spoil)

The children's books Bears on wheels by Dr.Seuss is one of many that will help children take their first steps into being able to read. The book is quite simple: The first page starts with one bear on one wheel and progresses and switches around from one on one, to four on one, to four on two, etc. It ends with twenty-one bears on one wheel, and they all fall off, leaving the one bear on one wheel. A very simple story, like most of Dr.Suess's writings, but could it have any significant effect on a child's education?
Like most children's books, they all aim to do two things: teach the child how to read, and make a few chuckles happen as well. But could Bears on wheels do a little more? The way I see it, the book could not only assist in reading but math as well. The book provides a basis of counting and adding and subtracting while entertaining as well. I would say the book has a much darker illuminati meaning about people hopping on others peoples bikes and causing everyone to fall off,(insert your own interpretation) but really, its just a fun child's book that a 1st grade teacher could read to a class and get the math lesson out of the way before they go to lunch.

[Olivia Bailey · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book would be good in learning basic math skills. Students can add along with the bears as they add and subtract bears on wheels. As a challenge, students can create their own math problems from using the book. Also, the book can be used for fractions. Students can see a contrast in bears and make fractions on how many bears on the bicycle. For example, on the 4th page, there are three bears on a unicycle. 2 are wearing blue and one is wearing pink. Students can write the fraction of blue bears 2/3 and the fraction of pink bears 1/3, and add them to together 2/3 + 1/3 = 3/3 (1) on one unicyle.

It is an introduction to wheels (transportation through bicycles). Students can learn how many people should be one different types of bicycles.

It can be an reinforcement of learning book genres. Students can learn that bears dont ride bicycles or have multiple people on one bicycle. Student learn from the contents of the book that it is fictional (fantasy) book.

There are slight rhyming in the book (one, none)

I like that the sentence on the pages were really short, but the illustrations told a lot more. Students can make predictions about what will or did happen according to the illustrations.

[Connie · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is one of the earlier Berenstain Bear books, and it shows. As you can see by the cover, the bears on the *inside* of this book are less stylized and cutesy than the bears in the newer books, and the story is an early reader instead of a longer read-aloud.

It's a cute little story about a cub and his misadventures with his bike. The illustrations make it perfect, as he's constantly getting jumped on, or falling off, or colliding with other bears.

There are only a few words per page, with a basic vocabulary, so this one is perfect both for early readers and for little-little ones learning to talk. However, don't expect it to help your child learn to count, it's not really a good book for that. It mentions numbers, but it doesn't really mention counting, or go through the numbers consecutively.

[Cassandra Gelvin · Rating 3 out of 5]

Boring book literally about bears being on wheels.

Wow, this is a super boring book. 1969--it's not even that old. It is literally bears on wheels. That's it. A bear on a unicycle, somebody jumps on his shoulders, then other bears jump on top of him. Somebody has a bicycle, there's some guy with a five-wheel bicycle, and different numbers of bears piled on top of different numbers of wheels. They get in crashes, and bears go flying through the air, and that's it. A lot less interesting than it sounds. Very simple. Nothing happens. There's no story. Not interesting enough for me to read to a child.

The best part (the only interesting part): The massive collision at the end, with everybody flying through the air, including the bicycles, with the matter-of-fact words underneath, "Twenty-one on none."

For more children's book reviews, check out my site at http://www.drttmk.com.

[Erika Gregory · Rating 4 out of 5]

This story was very entertaining. The words are simple and the illustrations are just as simple. There are only a few words on each page and the illustraions are very subtle usually only conatining one character. This story as contains a lot of repetition, this allows children to read the same word multiple times and help with their recognition and literacy of the same word. Hopefully helping them learn it. This story also incorporated math, which I thought was a genius idea. You could use this book within a math lesson and children would have a great time and be totaly unaware that they were actually learning something. I loved this story and is one that I believe is timeless and will continue to be popular with children for years to come.

[Maureen Jehling · Rating 3 out of 5]

Bears On Wheels, by Stan Berenstain, is about bears who ride wheels. It starts out with one bear on one wheel. But then it continues on to all sorts of different numbers of bears on all sorts of numbers of wheels. But it always goes back to one bear on one wheel many times throughout the story. Make sure to read the story yourself, or to your children, and expect a fun, mouth-tiring book.

This book has a lot of repetition throughout it as I mentioned above. As it changes the amounts of bears and wheels many times, it always returns to one bear on one wheel which makes it a circle story. That is always a fun reading strategy that children love to read! Not many children will say they have seen bears on wheels, so this is an interesting book for children. I recommend it!

[Jemimah Lamadrid · Rating 3 out of 5]

This early reading book is fun and great for young children. The book consists of a bear on wheels, and along the way, the bear runs along into other ones picking them up on the bike. When the time comes when they don't fit any more on one bike, the bears get passed on to another bike. This book is a quick way to get children started on their reading and math skills. The captions describe how many bears there are on the bike each time a new one gets on so it gives the chance for the reader to actually count how many bears there are. The captions are simple to read, so there isn't a chance for the child to get bored of it because of how capturing the counting and illustrations are. I definitely recommend this book for a child getting ready to read and to get ready for math.

[Jordan Lee · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a book about counting. They use different size bicycles and a fun unrealistic amount of bears on each one to show different number and different counting methods. I would use this book in a classroom for early age children just learning how to count. Books like this are great for early readers because they are engaging and they teach students how to count. It is important to find ways that are interesting to bring into early learning classrooms and this book would be great for that. It could be incorporated into a math lesson where the students read this book and then take the skills they have seen and apply them to a math lesson.

[Megan · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is not like the normal Berentain bear books because it does not focus on brother and sister bear. I think this was one of the first books that Jan and Stan wrote together. It focuses on bears as they ride different types of cycles. They fit as many bears on a unicycle as they can, or they ride a two seater together. They get up to 10 bears on a unicycle at one time, and they have 10 bears parachuting at the same time on the next page. The illustrations of this book are basic, with the roads being yellow, and the bears and the cycles being the only other thing colored in on the page, and everything else is white. The trees are green, but their is no blue sky, etc.

[John Jones · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have always loved the Berenstain books, and this one is a classic. This book has so much to offer teachers that are trying to teach counting, number sense, and even division. The literature in this book expresses number sense throw number words and the pictures help the students to count if they can’t recognize the number word. I would use this book teach division because it is comparing bears to wheels, which can be arranged into a division problem were the wheels represent the denominator and the bears represent the numerator. I would also use this book to teach addition.

[Rachel · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nick is highly resistant to reading any book he hasn't been exposed to previously. So it was particularly delightful to watch his expression change from sullen to gleeful laughter as he read through this easy book about bears and wheels in increasingly absurd configurations.

There were only two words he was unsure of, and one he figured out on his own, meaning it was exactly the right difficulty level, too.

[Adam Utehs]

This book is a children's book about a bunch of bear on wheels, and the purpose about this book is to teach children how to count. I think this a great book for children because it is simple and will teach little children how to read and count. Little kids books are the building blocks to their learning not just from reading but also concepts like math. Since i am going to school for elementary education i would highly recommend this book.

[Eva Kelly · Rating 5 out of 5]

O.K., now THIS one was more like it. It's easy to read and FUNNY! It's all these bears riding BIKES! And who cares if real bears don't ride bikes. It was that good. FUNNY!
Ten stars.
If these bears have more books like this one, I can see why some kids like them. I just had to keep trying. And it worked!
You know what a clue is? The dumb ones I read were all square, but this one was shaped like a real book [a rectangle]. So I'm going to look for more book ones and not the square ones.

[Courtney Krug · Rating 4 out of 5]

This short children's picture book is a book that helps young readers learn how to count and read. It is a very fun story that involves bear rides bikes with different numbers of wheels. The bears switch from bike to bike, fall off bikes, ride on shoulders, and other eventful things.

I love this story because it is very fun and engaging for young students learning how to read. Not only does it teach reading but it also helps with beginning counting skills.

[Rosa Cline · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a great level 1 reader to help boost self esteem of beginning readers. Simple words and repeatative on each page will help them learn fast and bring smiles to their faces. Uses bears and bicycles. You can also use these illustrations to help children to learn counting by asking the child to count or to pick out 'which bear is dressed in blue" "in pink" etc. You can use this book for speech therapy; or for reading.

[Tabby · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's funny how the simplest concepts can make the most fun children stories. My kids love this book and I can't help but find it funny, too. That poor unicycle riding bear! Following a young bear just trying to enjoy a leisurely trip only to be constantly fending off other bears looking to get a free ride is not something I ever would have thought of. It's counting, it's math, it's an amusing escapade!

[Robert Davis · Rating 2 out of 5]

A decent, if largely forgettable counting book. I was never a huge fan of the Berenstain Bears as a child (or even as an adult to be honest) But children will like it I am sure. It just won't make much of a memory with them I think.