The Berenstain Bears and the Double Dare

by Stan Berenstain, Jan Berenstain

Berenstain Bears (77)

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Brother Bear feels excited about joining Too-Tall Grizzly's gang until the members dare him to steal one of Farmer Ben's juicy watermelons.

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11 reviews
Double Dare, by Stan and Jan Berenstain, was one of my favorites as a child. I still love this book and now I enjoy it even more, due to the amazing message it shares. Peer pressure is not the way, was the big picture in this book. My favorite part of this book was the topic, peer pressure is something all kids go through and all kids need to learn about. This book shares a story about peer pressure and what can happen if you follow others. Another aspect of this book that I enjoyed was the characters, having read this series before I know the behaviors of each character. This book treats you like a first time reader though and shows each personality, so no reader can get lost. I feel this is a very important part in order to understand show more the big picture. Last, I love the language used in the book, because the author writes beautiful sentences that teaches the reader new vocabulary. I love these books and this one is one of my favorite from the series. show less
I liked this book for two reasons. First, the idea of peer pressure is something that all readers can relate to. In the book, Brother Bear knows that stealing is wrong. However, his desire too be considered cool by Too-Tall and his gang over takes his morals and he goes for it. This is very good for readers to think about, what might they do because of peer pressure, or what they may have pressured someone else into doing that is wrong. Second, I liked the Illustrations. The world is very nicely drawn and you get a clear sense of the setting that the bears live in. The expressions of the characters are also done very well. You clearly see Brother's discomfort as he attempts to steal the watermelon, plus the mockery of Too-Tall and his show more buddies as they pressure him. Overall this book is very good, from its relateable protagonist, to the trouble making antagonists, and a great central idea of moral strength verses peer pressure. Something that is very crucial for kids to learn. show less
It was fun to reread a book from one of my favorite series, The Berenstain Bears, and I enjoyed it just as much now as I did when I was younger. I liked this book for two reasons, the first of which being because of the illustrations. I especially like the depiction of the bear characters because they all look cute and endearing, even the bully Too-Tall and his gang. I also liked how on some pages, the background is white and the pictures are shown in different circles across the pages. This is helpful because many events could happen on one page, so these illustrations show all of the events in a fun format. The second reason that I enjoyed this book is because of the overall moral and theme of the story. Brother Bear wants to join a show more group of friends, but they ask him to steal a watermelon from Farmer Ben’s garden. He catches Brother and teaches him a valuable lesson about thinking for himself, which helps Brother see that he doesn’t belong with a crowd of friends that want him to do bad things. This story can be relatable for many students and help them through peer pressure, which is always present in social and school settings. The main idea of this story is to think for yourself when judging what is right and what is wrong, and don’t do something if you’re not comfortable with it. show less
In my opinion this is a good book for children. It has good illustrations that are dramatic and engaging for readers. They are vibrant and playful, which I is actually fun for both the reader and any adults reading as well. I think this is a good thing, especially for new readers, because it shows them that good books can be fun and entertaining. I also like the language the author uses. Its simplistic enough to be understood by young students while still keeping its integrity as a good book. The plot is relatable for students, most of them will know what watermelons are, what stealing is and what it feels like to want to fit in. When the one bear dares the other to steal a watermelon, he mentions how its "a yucky feeling to do show more something yucky". Any reader who has ever experienced something similar could automatically relate to this since it is a feeling of guilt. I also like how how the characters are animals, this eliminates any bias regarding demographics. The message of this story is to not give into peer pressure and stand strong as an individual. show less
I loved The Berenstain Bears as a child, and I'm thrilled that my children love them too. We've had Berenstain Bear books and movie/videos in our collection for years.... each of my 5 children have loved them, and has gone through a Berenstain Bears phase at some point..... my youngest, 7, is currently in this phase. These books are part of our bedtime reading every night.

This book, like all Berenstain Bears books, aims to teach children strong moral values, and proper behavior, through good examples. I deeply appreciate this aspect of this series.
One of the better Berenstain Bear books. Two highlights are the metaphors of chickens and sheep becoming real on the farm, and the brief appearance by Double-Ton Grizzly at the end.
½
sister bear has her rope taken by bullies and her brother goes to get it back. the bullies made fun of brother bear and dared him to steal a watermelon. brother bear does it but ends up getting in trouble. he tells the farmer all about it and eventually one of the bullies dads yelled at the bullies for being mean.
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546+ Works 176,662 Members
Stan Berenstain was born in 1923 in Philadelphia, the same year and place as his future wife, Jan. They met as students at the Philadelphia College of Art. World War II delayed their career plans: Stan joined the army as a medical assistant while Jan supported the war effort by working in an airplane factory. They married in 1946 and together show more began drawing cartoons for the McCall's/Good Housekeeping It's All in the Family series. They worked on this feature from 1956 through 1990. The Big Honey Hunt, published in 1962, was their first book for children. This book about a family of bears, written for Dr. Seuss's Beginner Books series, was so popular that Dr. Seuss himself, Theodore Geisel, encouraged them to write more stories. Geisel's advice launched the Berenstains on life-career writing and illustrating the very successful Berenstain Bears books. The Berenstain Bears' New Baby, published in 1974, was the beginning of the First Time Books series. The Children's Choice Award was given to The Berenstain Bears' New Neighbors in 1995. The Berenstains were also honored for their work in children's literature when they received the Ludington Award in 1989. There have been television shows based on the Berenstain Bears books, as well as CD-ROMs and videos. Stan Berenstain passed away on November 26th, 2005, after a lengthy battle with lymphoma. He was 82. (Bowker Author Biography) show less
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566+ Works 194,731 Members
Jan Berenstain was born Jan Grant on July 26, 1923 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. She met Stan Berenstain on their first day of classes in 1941 at the Philadelphia Museum School of Industrial Art. During World War II, Stan served as a medical illustrator in an Army hospital and Jan worked as a draftswoman in the Army Corps of Engineers and as an show more aircraft riveter. They married in 1946 and together began drawing cartoons for the McCall's/Good Housekeeping All in the Family series. They worked on this feature from 1956 through 1990. They also published artwork in magazines like Colliers and the Saturday Evening Post. The Big Honey Hunt, published in 1962, was their first book for children. This book, which was written for Dr. Seuss's Beginner Books series, was so popular that Dr. Seuss himself, Theodore Geisel, encouraged them to write more stories. His advice launched them on a life-career writing and illustrating the Berenstain Bears books. The Berenstain Bears' New Baby, published in 1974, was the beginning of the First Time Books series. She wrote more than 300 books during her lifetime. The couple received numerous awards including the Children's Choice Award for The Berenstain Bears' New Neighbors in 1995 and the Ludington Award in 1989 for their work in children's literature. There have been television shows based on the Berenstain Bears books, as well as CD-ROMs and videos. She died after a stroke on February 24, 2012 at the age of 88. (Bowker Author Biography) show less

Series

Common Knowledge

Canonical title
The Berenstain Bears and the Double Dare
Original publication date
1988
People/Characters
Mama Bear [Berenstain Bears series]; Papa Bear [Berenstain Bears series]; Sister Bear [Berenstain Bears series]; Brother Bear [Berenstain Bears series]; Too-Tall Grizzly; Farmer Ben (show all 7); Two-Ton Grizzly (father of Too-Tall Grizzly)
Important places
Bear Country
Epigraph
When peer pressure rears its ugly head, it's easy for most cubs to be misled.
First words
It was one of those days in Bear Country when everything was going so well, you just knew that any minute something was bound to go wrong.
Last words
(Click to show. Warning: May contain spoilers.)"Hmm," said Mama. "You asked them for it and they gave it back -- just like that?"
"Well," said Brother, going back to his tangled fishing line, "not exactly just like that."
Original language
English
Canonical DDC/MDS
813.6

Classifications

Genres
Children's Books, Picture Books
DDC/MDS
813.6Literature & rhetoricAmerican literature in EnglishAmerican fiction in English2000-
LCC
PZ7 .B4483 .BLanguage and LiteratureFiction and juvenile belles lettresFiction and juvenile belles lettresJuvenile belles lettres
BISAC

Statistics

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1,330
Popularity
18,070
Reviews
9
Rating
(3.87)
Languages
Chinese, English, Korean
Media
Paper, Ebook
ISBNs
13
ASINs
4