The Berenstain Bears in the Dark

The Berenstain Bears

by Stan Berenstain

This classic Berenstain Bears story is a perfect way to teach children about bravery and overcoming their fears!

Come for a visit in Bear Country with this classic First Time Book® from Stan and Jan Berenstain. After reading a scary book, Sister becomes afraid of the dark. Thankfully, Papa has some good ideas to help Sister conquer her fear. Includes over 50 bonus stickers!

Genres: Childrens, Picture Books, Fiction, Animals, Classics, Juvenile, Kids

32 pages, Library Binding

First published January 1, 1982

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 4 out of 5]

Another good Berenstain Bears outing. In our house the dark can be a little scary, so this little story has a good message. I do like the little book brother bear is reading. I like that the cave makes a little noise and they figure out what makes the noise. It is a nice little touch.

I love the art and the bears are simply fun to be with.

The kids in my house enjoy these books.

[Sophie Crane · Rating 5 out of 5]

I Loved The Bond Between Papa Bear & Sister Bear in this Story.

[Lancelot Schaubert · Rating 5 out of 5]

Impossible to read this book as title recommends. Good in the light though. 10/10

[Bree Hill · Rating 3 out of 5]

Papa Bear and Sister Bear’s scene together was adorable. I loved the art work in this one. Sometimes it’s the tiniest of details but the can be so adorable when you actually notice them. Love that Brother Bear was getting into mystery reading in this one and basically winds up spooking himself in the end.

[Laura · Rating 4 out of 5]

I miss going to the library 😭💔

[Gina · Rating 3 out of 5]

Too nostalgic for me to give a lower rating, to be honest, though Brother Bear is a bit of a Karma Houdini at least where the parents are concerned, in my opinion.

[Neil · Rating 3 out of 5]

Something about the Berenstain Bears never really clicked with me, even when I was very young. I think it was because while the authors made a conscious effort to keep the series topical and up-to-date, Papa and Mama Bear, alone among the citizens of Bear Country, chose to dress like extras from Little House on the Prairie every single day.

It's hard on a cub when you're too embarrassed by your mom's polka-dotted nightgown and matching bonnet to have the guys over for a round of Smash Brothers, or when your dad comes to a parent-teacher conference looking like he came straight from jug-band practice.

Or maybe I was just a really shallow and superficial little kid, I dunno.

[J.T. IV · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another great book in the Berenstain Bear series. Brother and Sister go to the library and pick out some books. Brothers happens to be a scary mystery book and Sister ends up seeing all sorts of scary things that night in the dark. If you have kiddos who might be a little scared of the dark, or if you happen to have a young one who saw or read something a little bit scarier than they can handle, this might be a great book to read through. Papa bear does a good job of explaining that there is nothing to be scared of in the dark except the dark itself. I highly recommend In the Dark and the Berenstain series as a whole. Hope you’ll check them out.

[Monica Gearhart · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love these books. Reading them again as an adult, brings back memories from my child hood.

[Jeff "Mr Reads" Winghart · Rating 5 out of 5]

Scary!

[Luisa Knight · Rating 3 out of 5]

There were a few books in this series we liked, and this was another.

Ages: 3 - 6

Here’s a few of our bedtime favs: watch my reel!

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[Stef · Rating 4 out of 5]

This story was one of the ones in my collection when I was a kid. How cute is the Bears' little house? This version came with stickers, and even though this was borrowed from the library, not all were used, which is amazing. I didn't take one. I mean, not yet, I still might. Okay, I just did; I'm that kind of rude adult.

[Kris · Rating 4 out of 5]

A classic. Brother Bear being his jerky self, and Sister whines a lot, but twist - Papa helps this time, when normally Mama is fixing everything single-handedly while Papa, I don’t know, acts racist or grows a pumpkin or something. I still kind of love them for nostalgia’s sake, even if they used to be the Berenstein Bears before the whole Mandela effect.

[Sam Martinez · Rating 4 out of 5]

its a trippy book.
but its kinda cool.
read it.

[Rakim Cabrera-Scarlata · Rating 1 out of 5]

Book is trash. Tryna tell me the dark isn't scary. Cap.

[Ruby · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great book to read to your kids if they are afraid of the dark. Papa bear teaches Sister bear that when your afraid of the dark, it is only your imaginations tricking you.

[Sinem Gülen · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great book for a rainy autumn night.

[Kelly Kosinski · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fortunately my children did not fear the dark, but enjoyed this.

[aCupcakeBlonde · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book helped my 4 year-old get over her fear of the dark. A classic great book!

[Amber · Rating 3 out of 5]

I love the berenstain bears books in general so reading this one was no different. I like how the bears have human traits all around and they live a very human like life other than the fact that they live in a tree. These books always have a moral or a problem and solution as well so it makes it a great read for the younger ages because it causes them to think critically about what’s going on. It would also be very easy to implement a lesson plan involving these books. I think the topic of the book is very relatable to children. I think everyone even as adult has gotten scared of the dark or what’s in it so it can very be relatable to us as adults. I love the artwork in this book a lot because there’s always so much to look at yet the pages always cause you to focus on what’s most important on that page.

[Katt Hansen · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read all these books to the kids when they were very small. What's interesting to me is that nearly 20 years later this is the one I remember best. Maybe because when I was a kid I would scare myself with mysteries from the library, and then not be able to fall asleep at night.

I love how Brother and Sister explore books on their own. I love how they torment each other (like kids do) and how their parents deal with it. And I love the night light. That's a very cool night light.

The ending was perfect - usually what scares us in books is the unknown - and here when the solution is revealed, we find it's nothing near as scary as what they had been imagining. Again, these books are incredibly honest and real, and that's what makes them lasting in our memories even when we move on to reading other, more grown up books.

[Jordan Lee · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is about Sister Bear being afraid of the dark after picking out a scary story to read at the library. Papa bear talks to scared sister bear and lets her know that the scary things she sees is all in her imagination. We would use this book in our classroom to teach students that our imaginations can sometimes make us think things that may not actually be true. Our imaginations are powerful tools and students must have theirs guided when they let their imaginations take them to places that allow them to be scared. They need to harness that imagination in places that allows it to shine. This book can let them know that not everything is scary, and to really be choosy when reading books before you go to bed.

[Cassandra Gelvin · Rating 2 out of 5]

Frighteningly boring.

It's not terribly interesting. The cubs check out a book from the library. It's a scary book. Brother reads it to Sister. She gets scared and has trouble sleeping at night. Brother makes a scary noise and nobody sleeps well. The next day, Papa finds an old night light he had as a kid. See, lots of people are afraid of the dark. Even Papa was afraid of the dark when he was a baby. The end.

It's a good message, just not a very interesting story.

The best part: "Sister was looking at a storybook about three kittens who were arguing over which was the prettiest-- and it was a little boring." Just like this book.

Message: The dark isn't scary, but it's okay to be afraid of it anyway.

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

[Taylor · Rating 4 out of 5]

All of the Berenstain Bears books help children learn something new or how to handle a problem. The book series follows the family of 5 bears living in Bear Country. In 'The Berenstain Bears in the Dark',
Brother Bear reads a scary book to Sister Bear. She gets scared in the dark, but the book shows how to handle the situation. Papa Bear tells Sister Bear that she is letting her imagination run wild. This book is good for little kids to read because this is such a common problem for them. It's helpful for them to know they aren't alone and that there is a solution to help them - read the book to find out what the solution is!

[VampireNovelFan · Rating 4 out of 5]

I think there's a very good reason that this book series has spanned decades and maintained popularity. It gives children the chance to think on their own and make their own choices for behaviors that carry over into their adult lives. Many of these issues will be ones that will persist through their lives, just on different levels of course.

I love the nostalgia reading this as an adult. I used to be afraid of the dark and finally grew out of it. But it was great to have a book that touched upon a major issue I had when growing up. Now I love the dark!

[Joy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Being afraid
of the dark
Doesn't just happen
to you.
It happens,
sometimes,
to little bears, too.

After Brother reads her a scary book, Sister has a lot of problems falling asleep and is afraid of the dark.

This is actually a good example of Papa Bear being a good father. He is the one that solves Sister's problem by talking with her and giving her a nightlight.

This book could be paired with Bad Dream.

[Malcolm Nelson]

This book in particular is a really great book dealing with sleeping in the dark. Each Berenstain Bears series deals with a family of bears and their everyday life issues. targeted toward young children they teach kids how to act/ understand certain situations. this one is about sleeping in the dark, but there are others like being babysat, or eating alot of junk food. i think they are good reads for little kids because they are interesting as well as teaching.

[Mr. Burton · Rating 5 out of 5]

I remember reading this book during my speech therapy class as kid. I used to bring different books in the series home with me in plastic ziplock bag everyday and read them or have my mom read them to me. These books taught me that you can always solve your problems. Great books for small children.

[Lien · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed reading The Berenstain Bears books as a child. The family dynamic of the family intrigued me, and the books were good for independent reading. I always imagined myself in the books and wished that I could jump into the pages. When reading The Berenstain Bears books, I definitely felt as if I was in their world.

[↜ƈɦǟռ☂ɛℓℓɛ↝ · Rating 3 out of 5]

★★★The Berenstain Bears in the Dark by Stan and Jan Berenstain
Brother and Sister Bear hear their bedtime story, and then its lights out. The story was spooky, and now Sister is afraid. This teaches kids, that sometimes their imagination can get the better of them, and to not read scary books before bed.