The Berenstain Bears and the Messy Room

The Berenstains Bears and the Messy Room is my all time favorite book. As a child my mom and I organized my closet they way brother bear does and I still believe because of this book I am a more organized person. The main reason I love this book would be because of the characters in the book. Brother bear and myself are very alike which makes the book very relatable, with his collecting of nature things such as birds nest, his love of building models, and his all around enjoyment of games any young boy can relate to him. Also sister bear is very relatable for most young girls as well, with her dolls, her stuff animals, and her joy for puzzles. These characters are super relatable and super easy to attach to as a child. Another reason I show more love this book are the illustrations, near the end of the book you see how the new room was organized and what my room looked like a few weeks later. This gives kids the chance to see how easy it is to clean up their room along with a great link into the story. Another great part of these pictures is the expressions on mama bears face, which allow all readers to understand how mama bear feels without even reading the text. The last reason I enjoy this book would be the language, the authors of these books manages to make these books good for reading, but they also manage to write extremely well. Some of the parts allow for great detail and others show a great message. One part "A half-done jigsaw puzzle gather dust in one corner of the room. A group of brother's dinosaur models collected cobwebs in the other." the detail and descriptiveness is just wonderful. The big picture of these book in my mind is taking care of your mess is best, don’t leave it for someone else. show less

From the last page:

And Papa had been right too. It was so much more enjoyable to live in a neat, clean, well-organized room--and so much more relaxing!

It wasn't as exciting to open the big storage closet now, but it was much more practical--and a lot more fun!

Sounds like propaganda to me. What six-year-old was ever worried about how "relaxing" her room was? And boxes are supposed to be fun? How? I guess maybe you could read into it that it's now easier for the cubs to find what they're looking for, so they can play games or whatever without searching, but I'm just not feeling it.

A classic in the Berenstain Bears library. In this story, Brother and Sister Bear can't keep their room under control. Every time they're supposed to be cleaning, Mother Bear ends up doing all the work. Frustrated, she brings in the box, and starts to throw out all the junk cluttering the room, despite the kid bears' protests. Papa, hearing the commotion, comes to mediate the problem.

This is a scenario that every child and parent knows. When I was a kid, it was garbage bags instead of boxes, and my parents stored all the stuff we didn't need in the garage, where we would sometimes sneak out and reclaim a particularly valued toy that was swept up in the parent maelstrom. Now that I'm a mom myself, and my girl is just a toddler, I can show more already feel the purging temptation. I've given away quite a few toys that she isn't interested in; fortunately, she's too young to complain or truly notice - yet. Every family can relate to the story, and the resolution is satisfying. Plus, we need books that show kids being disobedient and parents being grumpy - because such is life - but we also benefit from the solid family unity that underpins these human flaws, and the love that overcomes them and draws the family together. The moral values presented in this story overcome disobedience and grumpiness. Another cute story with a clean moral message. show less

I can hear my mom screaming "you are not going outside until your room is cleaned." This is the first chore that every child is given and is an important one. This one really drew out the memories of interacting with my mom and remembering she did just as Mama Bear did and came in my room and bagged up everything. I was so scared of losing everything that I either cleaned my room then on or hid everything real well.

I would love to use this in a library story time to help kids understand a clean room is a healthy room and keeps them safe.

The Berenstain Bears is a giant franchise spanning decades of success. The series follows a family of bears and their experiences as they age and grow up. Each volume has its own morals embedded into the story. This particular volume follows the Brother and Sister as they struggle to assign roles as to who cleans what in their room. Teaches a valuable lesson on the art of working together, I loved the Berenstain Bears growing up, and particularly remember this volume being one of my favorites. Very adorable illustrations with lots of colors, an easy plot line to follow with simple language. A must read for all children!

*The Berenstain Bears and the Messy Room* by Stan and Jan Berenstain is a delightful tale that teaches kids the value of tidiness. Brother and Sister Bear's messy room becomes a family project, with humor and relatable moments. The colorful illustrations and clear message make it a fun, practical read for families.

It made my child-heart blissfully happy when the Berenstain Bears cleaned up their room, put shelves in the closet, and labeled all their boxes. I’ve been trying to live up to that ideal ever since.