The Berenstain Bears: God Made Colors, Thank God for Good Health and The Trouble with Things Book Reviews

The Berenstain Bears Present Three Colorful New Books for Kids from the Popular Living Lights Series

My review:  The Berenstain Bears have become a staple in our new Zonderkidz library!  These fresh new books along with remakes of old classics including Christian principles really knock it out of the park!  The I Can Read book series are perfect for young readers who are ready to explore life with the Berenstain Bears.  "God Made Colors" is a fun rhyming story about the colorful world God made.  "Thank God for Good Health" is a great story for young kids to read before they go to the doctor and a reason to give thanks to God for good health.  In "The Trouble with Things" Brother and Sister Bear learn the valuable lesson of being content with what they have been given. 

America’s favorite Bear family is back with three inspiring new I Can Read! books from the Berenstain Bears® Living Lights™series by Stan, Jan, and Mike Berenstain, just in time for spring.

Updated to highlight important Christian values, THE BERENSTAIN BEARS: GOD MADE THE COLORS and THE BERENSTAIN BEARS THANK GOD FOR GOOD HEALTH (Zonderkidz; February 2013; $3.99 each) revisit two 1993 stories using the I Can Read! Level 1 simple text designed for new readers.

 

Based on the book The Berenstain Bears Learn About Colors, GOD MADE THE COLORS follows Brother and Sister Bear on an inspiring walk through the beautiful landscape of Bear Country.

As they view the landscape all around them—a classic red farmhouse, lush green grass, Mama Bear’s blue polka-dot dress, and much more—the cubs discover that God splashed the world with an endless variety of color.

 

THANK GOD FOR GOOD HEALTH adds a faith-based message to The Berenstain Bears Get a Check Up, as Brother and Sister prepare for their annual visit with Dr. Grizzly. Have the cubs been taking care of their bodies the way God intended, and will they need the dreaded booster shot?

Ideal for bedtime stories and Sunday School, both I Can Read! books evoke the classic stories using the original artwork by Stan and Jan Berenstain.

A new addition to the Living Lights brand by Mike and Jan Berenstain, THE BERENSTAIN BEARS: THE TROUBLE WITH THINGS (Zonderkidz; January 2013; $4.99) calls attention to our obsession with material items.

When Mama Bear announces a quick trip to the Bear Country Mall, Brother, Sister, and even Papa Bear, begin to make a list of all of the things they “need”—a Space Grizzlies play set, a pink Bearbie dream house, and a new salmon-fishing reel. 

Brother and Sister arrive at the toy store and become over zealous, begging for new skateboards, video games, puzzles—and almost everything in sight. Shocked at her cubs’ greed, Mama realizes what the family really needs—a Bible. When Mama reads the story of King Solomon, the Bear family learns that God’s gifts are superior to anything found at the mall.

Complete with stickers, THE TROUBLE WITH THINGS expertly weaves humor with a fresh Christian message that will appeal to Berenstain Bears fans everywhere.

ABOUT THE AUTHORS: Stan and Jan Berenstain introduced the first Berenstain Bear books in 1962. Mike Berenstain grew up watching his parents write about and draw these lovable bears. Eventually he started drawing and writing about them too. Since the late 80s, he has been very much involved as a writer and illustrator with his family’s creation, the Berenstain Bears. He continued to work with his mother, Jan, creating new books up until her death this year. The antics and activities of Mike’s three children have provided inspiration for many Berenstain Bears books over the years. Though Stan and Jan passed away in 2005 and 2012, respectively, Mike continues to create the delightful Bear adventures from a studio in Pennsylvania, in an area that looks much like the sunny dirt road deep in Bear Country. www.berenstainbears.com

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Zonderkidz™, a division of Zondervan, inspires young lives through imagination and innovation. As the leader in Christian children's communications, it produces bestselling and award-winning Bibles, books, board books, graphic novels, audio, video and digital products that awaken the hearts and touch the souls of kids under 16 and the people who love them, from family members to educators. Zonderkidz is the publisher of the NIrV (New International Reader’s Version) Bible translation, the 3^rd-grade reading level edition of the NIV that is ideal for children and those who speak English as a second language. Visit Zonderkidz on the Internet at www.zonderkidz.com.