The Berenstain Bears and Baby Makes Five

The Berenstain Bears

by Stan Berenstain, Jan Berenstain

This classic Berenstain Bears story is a perfect way to teach children about what it’s like to have a new baby in the house! 

Come for a visit in Bear Country with this classic First Time Book® from Stan and Jan Berenstain. The Bear family has a new addition . . . a baby girl named Honey! However, Sister isn’t sure she likes having the new baby in the tree house. Honey cries, is always hungry, and gets all the attention. Will things ever get better for Sister? Includes over 50 bonus stickers!

Genres: Picture Books, Childrens, Family, Fiction, Animals, Juvenile, Literature

32 pages, Paperback

First published August 1, 2000

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]

Sister Bear is not happy to have a new baby sister around that gets all the attention. She gets grumpier and grumpier. It’s all about the baby. They do a great job with how Sister feels. The parents finally clue in on her feelings and they help her out a little, but you know that in the future they will be fighting like cats and dogs, even if they love each other.

The nephew picked this out of the library. He said the cover looked funnier. He is glad he doesn’t have a little sister. He doesn’t think that sounds like fun. He thought this book was ok and he gave it 2 stars. The niece didn’t read it.

[PS ♡]

Why am I just now finding out they had another kid? Lol

[Anne White]

We were given this as a new-baby gift. After looking through it myself, I refused to read it to the siblings, and in our house that was a rare occurrence.

[Shannon]

I was SUPER CREEPED OUT by the prospect of a fifth Berenstain Bear family member. Especially because in my grown-up mind, Mama Bear is now like 75 years old.

I support independent bookstores. You can use this link to find one near you or order THE BERENSTAIN BEARS AND BABY MAKES FIVE on IndieBound: http://www.indiebound.org/book/978067...

[Elise]

For a family who is not dealing with jealousy between siblings, I couldn't make myself read this out loud to my 4 year old, even though she begged. I don't want to suggest the idea to her that she could hold normal baby behaviors against her baby sister. I don't know if this would be instructive to a child who is feeling jealous or not. I just know it doesn't work for us.

[Cassandra Gelvin]

Don't *do* this to your kids.

What?! This isn't... bad... it's just stupid. So there's a realistic problem, and a stupid resolution to it. I've seen that before in Berenstain Bears books. So the third Bear child is born, Honey Bear, and Sister is upset because nobody is paying any attention to her. Brother, the oldest child is like, Meh, whatever, I've had this happen before so I can deal with it, but Sister is legitimately upset that nobody is paying attention to her. Everybody is constantly paying attention to the baby. The thing is, in reality, that is an issue. Kids can get overlooked by families with new babies. And you have to make time for your other kids. She's not just jealous; she has a real problem. They finally realize that Sister is upset about this, and what they do to solve the problem is to watch videos of her when she was a baby. And that fixes the problem and then she likes the baby.

No! That's not how you fix the problem! You can't just show the older child a video that shows that they got a lot of attention when they were a baby, too. That's not the answer. The answer is not, It's okay for us to pay constant attention to this baby because we paid constant attention to you. No. The answer is, you need to split your attention. You need to include your older child. You can't just ignore them because there's a new baby. Yes, babies require a lot of attention. And they require more attention than the older child does. But that doesn't mean you can ignore your older child. It's just stupid. That's why this book is stupid. It's not bad. It doesn't have a bad message. The message is: Babies take a lot of attention. And their solution for that is that Sister Bear just has to get over it. When, no, that's just wrong. Not a good solution. But it doesn't teach the child that they need to get over it; in this case the child just magically gets over it. It's not trying to teach a bad message. It's not harmful, but it's not helpful.

The best part: "Dumpling. Good name for her, thought Sister-- a fat little doughball that was hard to swallow." (Don't eat the baby.)

For more children's book reviews, see my website at http://www.drttmk.com.

[Reepacheep]

This wonderful story offers a great picture of the possible perspectives children may take when faced with the prospect of a new family member. Sister Bear has troubles accepting the new baby initially because she feels displaced. However, as the family begins to understand her "rejection" and Sister begins to understand her new role in the family, all is happy once again in the big tree.

Truly, I think this is a good book to help older siblings understand some of the things that happen when a new baby enters the family, and why Baby gets so much more attention than the other children, at least initially.

[Chelsea Horton]

A book children should read when they have a new baby coming. It is about the family having a new baby girl and sister bear is not happy. After bringing home a drawing she made of her family that did not include the new baby, mama bear decided to show sister bear her baby videos. She realized babies need a lot of attention, but her parents still love her. I probably did the same thing when my brother was born, and this book would help a child see their parents still love them even if they are busy with the baby.

[Kristen]

I like to grab books every now and then that remind my daughter that we have a baby coming. This was a cute one because it showed Little Sister not being happy about all the attention that her new baby sister was getting. She got jealous. But eventually she realized that when she was a baby she needed that much attention too and that she's actually really cute.

I wish they had shown Little Sister helping out a little too, to show that being a big sister can be fun and rewarding as well. But overall I enjoyed the story.

[Pooja Banga]

What fun! What excitement! What a nuisance. At least that's the way Sister Bear feels. If it isn't being fed, burped, or diapered, it's being dandled, cuddled, or kitchy-kitchy-kooed. Yes, Sister's pretty fed up with the fuss everyone's making over the new baby. Even the dolls make her angry, because they remind her of the baby. Then Sister gets a special homework assignment and, with a little help from wise old Mama, comes to believe that this new baby might just be a nifty addition to the Bear clan.
What a fun is to have small siblings ♥️

[↜ƈɦǟռ☂ɛℓℓɛ↝]

★★★★The Berenstain Bears and Baby Makes Five by Stan and Jan Berenstain
Papa, Mama, Brother, Sister, and Baby Honey, that makes five. Here is the problem, Sister is not happy about this. She can't understand, why the baby gets all the attention. Then they show her, her baby videos, and she realizes, it was the same when she was born. This calms her down and she starts to enjoy having a baby sister.
This would be a nice story to read to a child, when there is a new baby coming.

[Stef]

Mama Bear has another kid, which is a thought I'm having trouble reconciling as she dresses and looks like she's sixty-five. Sister Bear doesn't care for the changes that have taken place to accommodate Honey's arrival. This was my first time seeing Aunt Min and Uncle Louie and they dress AMAZING—too bad they're only around for one page. Anyway, problems are resolved when Mama and Papa show Sister home movies of Sister being a baby and doing all the things that Honey's doing now.

[Joy]

When a brand-new cub
makes its big entrance
it often takes a while
to get complete acceptance.

Sister does not like the fact that she has a new sister (Honey). Honey gets all the attention and Mama and Papa are always taking care of her.

This book could be paired with New Baby and The Birds, The Bees, and the Berenstain Bears.

[Rosa Cline]

This is a perfect book to get a new sibling that may have trouble with a new sibling coming into their lives. Sister is having a very hard time adjusting to baby Honey being born and all the attention she gets. But with her family loving her they help her understand that she is still just as loved.

[Nashiea Edmiston]

Berenstain Bears book about the first time the two bear cubs get a baby sister and their apprehension and insecurities this new change brings from the perspective of the little bear cubs. The book is a bit challenging for a truly beginner reader, I would consider it a step 2 book consisting of 3-6 sentences per page.

[Modboy]

I read this to my 4 year old son who recently became a big brother. It's a well-written, amusing story about the attention babies get and the jeaolousy that can follow. I think some of it sunk in.

[Rachel]

Okay, this was HILARIOUS. In particular, the dumpling comparison. "Fat, little doughball". Oh, yes. The Goddaughters relished in that funny, silly phrase. :D So much joy in reading this book twice (before nap and bedtime).

[Mary Jane]

It's a cute story about jealousy of siblings when a new baby comes into the family.

[Miss Clark]

Originally read 1995-1997.

[Jaime]

We love all berenstain bear books!

[Heather Jo]

megan summer reading 2016, children's book, picture book, series, the berenstain bears, baby, brothers, sisters, prek, kindergarten, first grade, second grade,

[Kimberly]

A familiar topic handled by familiar characters. It's not the best new baby book out there, but if your kids like the Berenstain family, this is a good choice.

[Dawn]

A bit negative, but turns around. Sweet. Realistic.

[Diana Valdivia-Rodriguez]

This book is about family and love when it comes to a new baby in the family.

[Danielle Williams]

Loving

[Bethany]

I think she should have been named Baby Bear. They aren't really into proper names, so Honey is kinda not right. Anyway, it's a cute story and I enjoyed it.

[Kelly Wickham]

This is a cute one and what is more fun than a new baby? Well, Sister thinks differently as everyone is paying attention to the new baby and she is feeling neglected. Finally, Mama bear realizes what is happening and brings out old baby movies of Sister. Sister realizes once again that she is a valued member of the family and warms up to the new baby. The family of 4 turned 5 is once again a happy family.

[Mari]

I felt like the problem wasn't that Sister bear didn't like the new baby or thought she wasn't cute, but rather that the parents time was all taken up for her... this is another issue where the parents have to be mindful of their other children I would say.

[brynn]

Sister is a brat because the new baby gets all the attention. Reminiscent of DW from Arthur.

[Letti Ramos]

So cute