Berenstain Bears Go Fly a Kite

The Berenstain Bears

by Stan Berenstain

Papa Bear makes such a big kite for the kite flying contest that it carries him away and into a hang-gliding contest.

Genres: Childrens, Picture Books, Fiction

355 pages, Paperback

First published September 12, 1983

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

[Dianna]

My biggest complaint about the Berenstain Bears series is that Papa is made to be somewhat of a buffoon in many of the books. But I can overlook the small amount of buffoonery because of the life lessons learned.

This book has no lessons whatsoever, only a ridiculous Papa Bear being carried away by a too-big kite he wanted to enter in the neighborhood contest. Of course kids will think it's funny, but I missed the usual heart-warming lessons that the Berenstain Bears books usually hold.

[Kathleen Hoellerich]

The Berenstain Bears Go Fly a Kite by Stan and Jan Berenstain is a story about a kite contest where you have to make-your-own kite. The brother and sister start to work on the kite they want to use for the contest when along come Papa Bear to see what they are working on. Papa decides to step in to help or mostly take over the bear’s project. Papa Bear ended up making the kite so big that the Bears needed the family car to make it fly. Papa forgot to let go of the kite and ended up in the air with it. The story ends with the Berenstain Bears family winning a hang-glider contest instead of the kite contest.

The illustrator strongly supports the text and even gives more detail to the story then the text does. When Papa Bear comes to help brother and sister with making the kite they both have a look of worry. The reader can pick up from their faces that Papa stepping into help may not be a good thing. The illustrator uses strong facial expressions to let the reader know how each of the bears are feeling when the text does not go on to explain their feelings.

The story is not overly didactic. The author just goes step by step through the events of the story. The author does not have a strong tone or use of descriptive words. The use of the names Papa, Mama, Brother, and Sister are examples of just how simple the text is. The illustrator has a trophy on the table that reads “Best Stunt Flyer.” The illustrator uses more descriptive words in the signs on the page then the author does in the text.

[Jessica Nekuda]

My son laughed through the whole book