The Berenstain Bears Gotta Dance!

Berenstain Bears Big Chapter Books #8

by Stan Berenstain, Jan Berenstain

Illus. in black-and-white. Brother thinks dancing is silly, until his heartthrob Bonnie decides she may go to the spring dance with Too-Tall. Determined to learn to dance (quickly!), Brother cuts a deal with Sister's ballet teacher and learns something about helping out in the bargain.  

Genres: Childrens, Fiction, Animals, Juvenile

101 pages, Paperback

First published May 25, 1993

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

[Katt Hansen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Brother Bear has a crush - but Bonnie is something of a problem. She loves to dance. And by happy coincidence, there's a school dance coming up.

Brother, of course, panics, and comes up with every reason to push her away. Because admitting that he has a problem becomes admitting that it's too hard to solve, without hard work. And he's going to have to change not only how he thinks about himself, but also will need to apply some hard work on his part to learn a new skill.

I like how this story plays out. The dance recital makes things interesting, as does the problems with the bullies who seem more threatening now that I know they sell drugs (see another book in the series). These are some nasty cubs, and Bear Country isn't as safe as I used to think it was.

This is a great series, taking characters that kids know and love and putting them into a story that takes some reading chops to get through. It's books like this that really aid in literacy, especially when you can keep things interesting with engaging storylines that deepen the readers interest in this world.

[Jes · Rating 3 out of 5]

Overall, the message of this story was good. The classic Berenstain Bears in chapter book form. While this story demonstrated many admiral qualities that we hope children learn, I was disappointed with the word choices used to describe Brother’s feelings. They were too mature and went beyond harmless crushes. It seemed to be a highlight, when it didn’t necessarily need to be, especially if this is targeted to younger audiences. I was also disappointed that violence was the answer to a problem with a bully instead of seeking an adult for help.

[Kaitlin Moore · Rating 3 out of 5]

Brother Bear can't dance and is kinda turd about it. Gets ripped while lifting weights as his sister dances and throws Too-Tall into a garbage dumpster. So... he's like way ripped because Too Tall is too tall for that nonsense.

He wants to go with Bonnie and learns to dance so he can. Too Tall puts itching powder (???) in his pants and he wins most original dance.

[Samantha · Rating 2 out of 5]

I thought this was kinda lame and out-dated. And not just because it was written in 1993, it felt like it was written by adults who grew up in the 1950s...

[Stasia · Rating 5 out of 5]

I think this might be the chapter book with the BEST illustrations of the series!!!

[Nancy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Brother wants to ask Bonnie to the spring dance, but he doesn't know how to dance. Sister tries to help him, but that doesn't work out for them. Mama Bear asks brother to take his sister to her ballet class on Saturday morning. Too-Tall and his gang hang out in front of the dance school, and tease all who go to class. Brother is asked to help out for the recital, and he turns the teacher down. The teacher makes a comment, about brother not being strong enough. Brother finds a work out room, and uses the equipment to prove he is strong, and the work outs build up his muscles. Towards the ending of the story, brother makes a deal with the teacher. Brother agrees to be a catcher and lifter at the end of the recital, and the teacher gives him dancing lessons.

This is a cute story.