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The Berenstain Bears
The Berenstain Bears Around the World
Travel the world in the Anywhere-Anyplace Machine with the Berenstain Bears in this lively addition to the classic New York Times bestselling series. From the plains of Africa to the Great Wall of China, there are more sights to see than points on a map! Beginning readers will love discovering fantastic new places alongside their favorite family of bears, complete with vivid and classic illustrations. The Berenstain Bears Around the World is a Level One I Can Read book, which means it’s perfect for children learning to sound out words and sentences. Whether shared at home or in a classroom, the short sentences, familiar words, and simple concepts of Level One books support success for children eager to start reading on their own.
32 pages, Hardcover
First published September 6, 2016
About the author
Mike Berenstain
487 books173 followersMike Berenstain grew up watching his parents, Stan and Jan, working together to write and draw these lovable bears. Eventually he started drawing and writing about them too. Mike is married to Andrea and they have three children. They live in Pennsylvania, in an area that looks a lot like Bear Country.
Mike's earliest memory is of his parents studio in suburban Philadelphia. He remembers sitting on the floor scribbling on yellow typewriter paper with a big black pencil. His mother looked at the tangled hairball he had created, pointed out some random shape and said, "Look! Youve drawn a fish!" It did, indeed, look like a fish. That was his first drawing lesson. Hes been drawing ever since.
Aside from drawing, Mikes primary interests growing up were playing whiffle ball with his older brother Leo, collecting insects, stamps, coins, bottle caps, baseball cards, etc., building model planes, playing Davy Crockett in the backyard and fishing. He was also interested in watching the creation of his parents magazine cartoons during the 50s and finally, the birth of the first Berenstain Bears book in 1962. Hes often asked which is his favorite Berenstain Bear book. The answer is THE BERENSTAIN BEARS PICNIC, created when he was twelve. It features a picture of Papa Bear getting a big load of garbage dumped on his head. He thought this was very funny. Ever since, hes enjoyed drawing garbageapple cores, banana peels, old bed springs and the like.
Mike attended art school in Philadelphia in the early 70s, then worked as a designer in the Childrens Book Department of a New York publisher before starting his career as an author and illustrator. His first childrens book was published in 1976 followed by some thirty more over the next sixteen years. These ranged in subject from wizards to dinosaurs.
Since the late 80s, he has been very much involved as a writer and illustrator with his familys creation, the Berenstain Bears. He continues to work with his mother, Jan, creating new books, writing and illustrating.
Aside from the bears, Mike is interested in many thingsin classical music, American history, astronomy and physics. He likes to ski. He spends a lot of time with horses.
Mike is married, his wifes name is Andrea. They have three children whose antics and activities growing up have provided inspiration for many Berenstain Bears books over the years."
Mike's earliest memory is of his parents studio in suburban Philadelphia. He remembers sitting on the floor scribbling on yellow typewriter paper with a big black pencil. His mother looked at the tangled hairball he had created, pointed out some random shape and said, "Look! Youve drawn a fish!" It did, indeed, look like a fish. That was his first drawing lesson. Hes been drawing ever since.
Aside from drawing, Mikes primary interests growing up were playing whiffle ball with his older brother Leo, collecting insects, stamps, coins, bottle caps, baseball cards, etc., building model planes, playing Davy Crockett in the backyard and fishing. He was also interested in watching the creation of his parents magazine cartoons during the 50s and finally, the birth of the first Berenstain Bears book in 1962. Hes often asked which is his favorite Berenstain Bear book. The answer is THE BERENSTAIN BEARS PICNIC, created when he was twelve. It features a picture of Papa Bear getting a big load of garbage dumped on his head. He thought this was very funny. Ever since, hes enjoyed drawing garbageapple cores, banana peels, old bed springs and the like.
Mike attended art school in Philadelphia in the early 70s, then worked as a designer in the Childrens Book Department of a New York publisher before starting his career as an author and illustrator. His first childrens book was published in 1976 followed by some thirty more over the next sixteen years. These ranged in subject from wizards to dinosaurs.
Since the late 80s, he has been very much involved as a writer and illustrator with his familys creation, the Berenstain Bears. He continues to work with his mother, Jan, creating new books, writing and illustrating.
Aside from the bears, Mike is interested in many thingsin classical music, American history, astronomy and physics. He likes to ski. He spends a lot of time with horses.
Mike is married, his wifes name is Andrea. They have three children whose antics and activities growing up have provided inspiration for many Berenstain Bears books over the years."
Ratings & Reviews
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Displaying 1 - 22 of 22 reviews
January 25, 2020
It's a real achievement to get so many things wrong in a book with so little text.
Here are some nuggets of false information my kid had to unlearn:
Egypt is NOT the oldest country on Earth (what does that even mean?! If they mean the cradle of "civilization", insert buzzer sound here, because that's Mesopotamia).
You don't need a boat to cross the "streets" in Venice. That's why they have bridges. There's even one in the fricking picture.
Africa and South America are continents, not countries, as is implied.
After visiting all those places the intellectually challenged bears go to Alaska and Hawaii as if they were yet two more separate countries. Plus seeing the world is the premise of the book and then they end up visiting three places in the U.S. alone. Typical. And don't get me started on the idiotic stereotypes.
My brain hurts. This would be perfect bed time reading for Trump, after all "Belgium is a beautiful city" (yes, he really said that).
Plus, I really don't like the art. Rant over.
Here are some nuggets of false information my kid had to unlearn:
Egypt is NOT the oldest country on Earth (what does that even mean?! If they mean the cradle of "civilization", insert buzzer sound here, because that's Mesopotamia).
You don't need a boat to cross the "streets" in Venice. That's why they have bridges. There's even one in the fricking picture.
Africa and South America are continents, not countries, as is implied.
After visiting all those places the intellectually challenged bears go to Alaska and Hawaii as if they were yet two more separate countries. Plus seeing the world is the premise of the book and then they end up visiting three places in the U.S. alone. Typical. And don't get me started on the idiotic stereotypes.
My brain hurts. This would be perfect bed time reading for Trump, after all "Belgium is a beautiful city" (yes, he really said that).
Plus, I really don't like the art. Rant over.
April 3, 2018
This book was okay, but I wouldn't say it's ideal for a beginning reader. My kindergartener is just starting to read independently but I feel like he would struggle with more than half of the words in this book. Fortunately, it was my 3-year-old who spotted this at the library and decided she wanted to read it. It wasn't really ideal as a read aloud either (she said at one point, "This bear book is long!") but it was fine. If you would like a very simplistic/stereotyped introduction to countries of the world, this is a decent jumping off point into deeper exploration.
September 21, 2017
My four-year-old BB fan was irritated that Professor Actual Factual had been renamed Dr. Bear, so I had to keep remembering to swap in the correct name while reading. I was irritated by the cultural stereotypes. Not a winner.
August 24, 2017
Synopsis: "ravel the world in the Anywhere-Anyplace Machine with the Berenstain Bears in this lively addition to the classic New York Times bestselling series. From the plains of Africa to the Great Wall of China, there are more sights to see than points on a map!
Beginning readers will love discovering fantastic new places alongside their favorite family of bears, complete with vivid and classic illustrations."
My Review: This is a very good level one beginning reader book, even though again Munchkin is not a huge fan of the Berenstain Bears he is very interested in geography. This was a fun adventure that hits on some of the main big cities around the world, it is a short book so only a few places can be visited. With that said Munchkin really enjoyed it and wants to visit some of the places now.
Beginning readers will love discovering fantastic new places alongside their favorite family of bears, complete with vivid and classic illustrations."
My Review: This is a very good level one beginning reader book, even though again Munchkin is not a huge fan of the Berenstain Bears he is very interested in geography. This was a fun adventure that hits on some of the main big cities around the world, it is a short book so only a few places can be visited. With that said Munchkin really enjoyed it and wants to visit some of the places now.
April 27, 2026
Woof, Mike Berenstain really dragged the Berenstain Bears into the gutter. An Anywhere-Anyplace Machine? Really. The BS universe didn't need bargain barrel sci-fi. They climb into this machine and then land in random places and then state something superficial about it and move on. Blegh.
November 27, 2017
A great book for a beginning reader put a little geography lesson at the same time.
June 24, 2018
Inaccurate information
October 30, 2019
This was cute!
December 10, 2019
Good overview of different countries/continents for kids.
October 28, 2021
It’s not terrible, but European countries are described by name while Africa and South America don’t get any specific countries mentioned. The USA and Canada get their own sections.
March 21, 2022
Around the world 🌎 it touches on a few really great places.
November 14, 2022
This was a cute children’s book about visiting key places around the world. My kiddos loved seeing the different places!
September 22, 2025
2 stars for its inaccuracies, and too quick of a touch on each place before heading to the next place. felt too rushed.
Want to Read
September 10, 2026SM
August 29, 2023
At the museum, the Berenstain Bears are inspired to travel. Doctor Bear takes them into his Anywhere-Anyplace Machine which takes them to more than a dozen countries, including Canada, Switzerland, Egypt, Africa, Australia, and France. Fun illustrations.
Read
September 22, 2016Good intro book to exploring countries and differences
October 4, 2016
The Berenstain Bear family visit a museum where they meet Doctor Bear who has a time-traveling-type vehicle that can quickly transport them to all seven continents.
The Bear family sees England, France, Switzerland, Italy, Russia, Egypt, the African savanna, India, China, the Australian outback, the South Pole, the rain forests of South America, Mexico, Canada, Alaska USA, Hawaii USA, the Grand Canyon, Mount Rushmore, and the Statue of Liberty.
The traveling happens fast to cover so much ground so it can feel very fast paced, but the highlights in each region and the inclusion of all seven continents makes this an exciting read for readers who are gaining confidence with their reading skills and able to read several sentences per page.
Recommended for grades 1-3.
The Bear family sees England, France, Switzerland, Italy, Russia, Egypt, the African savanna, India, China, the Australian outback, the South Pole, the rain forests of South America, Mexico, Canada, Alaska USA, Hawaii USA, the Grand Canyon, Mount Rushmore, and the Statue of Liberty.
The traveling happens fast to cover so much ground so it can feel very fast paced, but the highlights in each region and the inclusion of all seven continents makes this an exciting read for readers who are gaining confidence with their reading skills and able to read several sentences per page.
Recommended for grades 1-3.
December 16, 2016
Other than one instance of "millions of years", it was good with beautiful pictures.
November 20, 2016
Jude read
December 17, 2016
Cute book that introduces different places around the world.
March 6, 2019
A quick romp around the world the the Bears with the help of Dr. Bear's Anywhere-Anyplace Machine.
September 5, 2020
Wonderful book introducing different landmarks in the world to young readers.
Displaying 1 - 22 of 22 reviews