What do you think?
Rate this book
The Berenstain Bears
The Berenstain Bears Thanksgiving Blessings
Brother, Sister, and Honey Bear teach children how to give thanks for all that God has given them as they journey to Gran and Gramps for Thanksgiving dinner. Young readers will develop an understanding of God’s divine blessing and the virtue of giving thanks to him in this addition to The Berenstain Bears Living Lights ™ series. Join the Berenstain Bears as they explore the value of being thankful in The Berenstain Bears Thanksgiving Blessings. It’s Thanksgiving Day and the cubs could not be more excited for pie, roast turkey, and all the trimmings. But Mama reminds them that there are more important things to be thankful for beyond the feast. Papa joins in and teaches the cubs about the many sacrifices that Bears made before them, so that they all can enjoy freedom, faith, and family today! Children will discover ways to act out traditional religious values and share God’s goodness in Zonderkidz The Berenstain Bears Living Lights™ series of books. The Berenstain Bears Thanksgiving Blessings : The Berenstain Bears Living Lights™ Look for additional inspirational children’s picture books in The Berenstain Bears Living Lights™ series.?
24 pages, Paperback
First published August 20, 2013
2 people are currently reading
149 people want to read
About the author
Mike Berenstain
429 books165 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
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews
November 13, 2017
You can tell that Stan and Jan had nothing to do with this. The whole flavor is different and it is rather preachy. It's not a bad book and it focuses on being grateful and blessings - all good.
It's just more rosey colored glasses about the history of the country. The kids liked the book well enough, but it was very preachy to me and I did not appreciate it. I've never felt this way about the original Berenstain bears. It's simply different and I guess I prefer the old books.
Honestly, I didn't know Stan and Jan had died and their son Mike was now writing them. He seems more religious and pushing an agenda to me. It turned me off.
It's just more rosey colored glasses about the history of the country. The kids liked the book well enough, but it was very preachy to me and I did not appreciate it. I've never felt this way about the original Berenstain bears. It's simply different and I guess I prefer the old books.
Honestly, I didn't know Stan and Jan had died and their son Mike was now writing them. He seems more religious and pushing an agenda to me. It turned me off.
November 26, 2016
The first thing I noticed were the new-school illustrations. It looked vastly different from all the other books I’ve read, so it definitely had a different feeling. I also noticed that the writing was so different and not the usual feel to it. It all made sense when I finished and saw at the back Mike Berenstain wrote this and not his parents, and it was published in 2013. I’ve never read one by their son before and I see they’re different from the usual family I know.
I didn’t even notice the addition of a new kid until pg. 5. when she spoke. I guess that shows how much I was paying attention. I actually thought Honey was the name of the horse, and I thought talking horse, huh, that's a stretch. But I would have preferred that over the unnecessary addition to the family. And it did look like it was talking, because of the position of its head and it was really animated. I absolutely did NOT like that they had another kid. The family was perfect with just the 4 of them. Brother and Sister were the stars and it should have stayed that way. When I read Honey repeating what had been said I was like who the heck is Honey? Totally didn’t like her presence and she didn’t fit into the story at all or add anything to it. All she did was annoyingly repeat words the others had said.
The cover looked like such a magical story and I couldn’t wait to read it, saved it til last to read of my Thanksgiving books. It was such a disappointment because it wasn’t what I expected. The story took a turn and just went off on this tangent, a ripoff of American history that we already know and don’t need. We don’t need the Bears in Bear Country having the exact same history we do. I would have liked their history to be separate from that of America, or at least if they have the same exact history, only as bears, that I don’t have to read about it when I expected a nice sleigh ride and a warm holiday at Grandma’s house. Instead it was like a laundry list or bullet points of what happened to the Pilgrims.
Then it ripped off the song about the Grandmother’s house.
“Over the river and through the woods to Grandmother’s house we go. The horse knows the way to carry the sleigh through the white and drifted . . . snow!”
Brother can’t wait for Thanksgiving dinner, and Sister said me neither, at which Honey annoyingly repeated “Neither!” Not cute. Papa looked forward to certain dishes, along with Brother and Sister and I was blown away with Mama Bear actually admitted to looking forward to a food item and didn’t say something wise about Thanksgiving not being about food. I spoke too soon.
She listed apple pie and pumpkin pie and Honey, the little parrot, is there again for aggravation’s sake, to yell “Pie!” I flipped the page and the Mama Bear I’m so tired of starts taking everyone to task, saying “there’s more to Thanksgiving Day than just eating lots of yummy food.” Ugh, her character is so tiresome.
I was surprised Papa Bear had the input that it’s a time to give thanks and count your blessings, that there’s other things to be thankful for than food, like faith and freedom. Shocked he actually got to say something true and morally correct.
It was weird how the page had the banner titled “Faith and Freedom.” The people were called Pilgrim Bears. Kind of original to take Pilgrims and just put Bear on the end. After reading so many Thanksgiving books about the history of the Indians and Pilgrims and their first meal together, I was sick of it and certainly didn’t want to open a Berenstain Bears book and read about it again. And what happened to the fun sleigh ride? It turned into a history lesson at school.
And the Native Bears? Wow. It was kind of cute though how the ship was called Bearflower and the Pilgrims were at Grizzly Rock instead of Plymouth Rock. The bears were cute dressed as Pilgrims and Indians, with their headbands and feather sticking up. But I thought it’s common knowledge that Pilgrims didn’t wear black outfits, they wore colorful clothing, and they didn’t have buckles because they weren’t even invented then.
I found it quite remiss that the story went on to say more people came after the Pilgrims to live a life of freedom, and then enemies came. I wouldn’t spin it that the Europeans were all good people with good intentions, and that only the other Europeans who wanted to enslave them were the bad guys. I can’t even believe someone in modern times would write such a false statement as to say “Then enemies came from across the sea and tried to take it all away. There was war and suffering. But peace came, at last, and the land was safe. We should all be thankful for the blessings of peace and plenty too.”
Like, are you kidding me? You just rewrote history and glossed over it like it was nothing! What kind of a lesson is that? You just hid all of the “war and suffering” that already existed with the Indians and the “innocent” farmers. The Pilgrims could be viewed as enemies to the Native “Bears” who were already there, and peace didn’t come just because the fighting was over. Peace to only one group of people isn’t peace. I can’t even believe he wrote this.
Then there’s that generic title “Peace and Plenty” with a scene of bears shooting at each other, one group in blue uniforms, the other in red. There’s also a flag pole and fireworks, along with the bears in the sleigh looking up at all of it. It’s kind of stupid to take two words as a theme from the paragraph and then blow it up as a title for the images.
And peace and plenty is also so ludicrous. If there was peace and plenty, the Europeans wouldn’t have forced Indians off their land and drove them further and further west onto land that was too small and not productive enough. There would have been room for everyone, or the settles would have moved there land wasn’t occupied. Come on. You can’t say life in America was one way, when it was the exact opposite. Just don’t write anything about it if you don’t want to touch on it; you don’t lie to people, even if they are kids.
The story abandoned Thanksgiving altogether as it seemed to highlight the Industrial Age or something. Roads, cities, bridges and workshops were built. Boats and wagons and trains were methods of travel. But people had to work, and played when the work was done. Totally exciting. So the page read “Work and Play” and had a train, wagon and ship, a fair, and people dancing and singing. “These are the blessings of work and play.”
Papa Bear then mentioned they’re thankful for family and friends. The “Family and Friends” page showed Gramps and Gran and Farmer Ben and his wife. It wasn’t interesting to read about, not something that really captures and holds the attention.
The family sang another little snippet of song, which wasn’t good.
“Over the river and through the woods, now grandmother’s cap I spy! Hurrah for the fun! Is the pudding done? Hurrah for the pumpkin pie!” And Honey gets out a final echo just to slam home the annoyance of her existence. “Pie!”
The only funny part was when Sister said “But Gran doesn’t have a cap. She has a scarf.” And Brother said “Well, I spy it anyway—through the kitchen window.”
Then, to further grate on my nerves, when Gramps asks the cubs if they’re ready for the Thanksgiving feast, Sister told him “But, you know, we should also think about all our Thanksgiving blessings.” Nothing more annoying than a little kid talking down to an adult. That is so wrong and so utterly aggravating. I can’t stand when kids talk down to adults. Ugh, it makes me sick. Just because their parents taught them something, they have to act like little know it alls and now teach anyone else—even their elders.
At least Gramps said he always does, and he’s most thankful for Grizzly Gran, the best cook in Bear Country. In that irritating way that grandmas seem to have, Gran scolded him and told him to stop his nonsense and help with the food. Can’t take a compliment. Maybe Sister will realize Gramps might know more than she does about Thanksgiving and being thankful.
The lessons weren’t over as Brother remarked he wished there were Native Bears to share the feast with them, and Gramps said he had a great, great grandma that was one-quarter Native Bear and he’s ready to share, and Gran piped in and asked him if he was forgetting something. Then they bowed their heads and gave the blessing and we get the laundry list all over again. “Thank you for blessings of faith and freedom, of peace and plenty, of work and play, and of family and friends. And last, and least, he mentioned the feast.
This wasn't the story I was looking for, unless I wanted a list of things I should be thankful for and a sugarcoated interpretation of history. I think I'll try to stick with the original Berentain writers and forego the newer ones because they're just too different and modern and miss the mark and the feel that the classic ones had. This had none of the Thanksgiving spirit I was looking for, and the cover with that lively sleigh ride over the bridge with people fishing in the river and birds singing and a person waving from a little stone house was pretty misleading, because it had none of that life to it.
I didn’t even notice the addition of a new kid until pg. 5. when she spoke. I guess that shows how much I was paying attention. I actually thought Honey was the name of the horse, and I thought talking horse, huh, that's a stretch. But I would have preferred that over the unnecessary addition to the family. And it did look like it was talking, because of the position of its head and it was really animated. I absolutely did NOT like that they had another kid. The family was perfect with just the 4 of them. Brother and Sister were the stars and it should have stayed that way. When I read Honey repeating what had been said I was like who the heck is Honey? Totally didn’t like her presence and she didn’t fit into the story at all or add anything to it. All she did was annoyingly repeat words the others had said.
The cover looked like such a magical story and I couldn’t wait to read it, saved it til last to read of my Thanksgiving books. It was such a disappointment because it wasn’t what I expected. The story took a turn and just went off on this tangent, a ripoff of American history that we already know and don’t need. We don’t need the Bears in Bear Country having the exact same history we do. I would have liked their history to be separate from that of America, or at least if they have the same exact history, only as bears, that I don’t have to read about it when I expected a nice sleigh ride and a warm holiday at Grandma’s house. Instead it was like a laundry list or bullet points of what happened to the Pilgrims.
Then it ripped off the song about the Grandmother’s house.
“Over the river and through the woods to Grandmother’s house we go. The horse knows the way to carry the sleigh through the white and drifted . . . snow!”
Brother can’t wait for Thanksgiving dinner, and Sister said me neither, at which Honey annoyingly repeated “Neither!” Not cute. Papa looked forward to certain dishes, along with Brother and Sister and I was blown away with Mama Bear actually admitted to looking forward to a food item and didn’t say something wise about Thanksgiving not being about food. I spoke too soon.
She listed apple pie and pumpkin pie and Honey, the little parrot, is there again for aggravation’s sake, to yell “Pie!” I flipped the page and the Mama Bear I’m so tired of starts taking everyone to task, saying “there’s more to Thanksgiving Day than just eating lots of yummy food.” Ugh, her character is so tiresome.
I was surprised Papa Bear had the input that it’s a time to give thanks and count your blessings, that there’s other things to be thankful for than food, like faith and freedom. Shocked he actually got to say something true and morally correct.
It was weird how the page had the banner titled “Faith and Freedom.” The people were called Pilgrim Bears. Kind of original to take Pilgrims and just put Bear on the end. After reading so many Thanksgiving books about the history of the Indians and Pilgrims and their first meal together, I was sick of it and certainly didn’t want to open a Berenstain Bears book and read about it again. And what happened to the fun sleigh ride? It turned into a history lesson at school.
And the Native Bears? Wow. It was kind of cute though how the ship was called Bearflower and the Pilgrims were at Grizzly Rock instead of Plymouth Rock. The bears were cute dressed as Pilgrims and Indians, with their headbands and feather sticking up. But I thought it’s common knowledge that Pilgrims didn’t wear black outfits, they wore colorful clothing, and they didn’t have buckles because they weren’t even invented then.
I found it quite remiss that the story went on to say more people came after the Pilgrims to live a life of freedom, and then enemies came. I wouldn’t spin it that the Europeans were all good people with good intentions, and that only the other Europeans who wanted to enslave them were the bad guys. I can’t even believe someone in modern times would write such a false statement as to say “Then enemies came from across the sea and tried to take it all away. There was war and suffering. But peace came, at last, and the land was safe. We should all be thankful for the blessings of peace and plenty too.”
Like, are you kidding me? You just rewrote history and glossed over it like it was nothing! What kind of a lesson is that? You just hid all of the “war and suffering” that already existed with the Indians and the “innocent” farmers. The Pilgrims could be viewed as enemies to the Native “Bears” who were already there, and peace didn’t come just because the fighting was over. Peace to only one group of people isn’t peace. I can’t even believe he wrote this.
Then there’s that generic title “Peace and Plenty” with a scene of bears shooting at each other, one group in blue uniforms, the other in red. There’s also a flag pole and fireworks, along with the bears in the sleigh looking up at all of it. It’s kind of stupid to take two words as a theme from the paragraph and then blow it up as a title for the images.
And peace and plenty is also so ludicrous. If there was peace and plenty, the Europeans wouldn’t have forced Indians off their land and drove them further and further west onto land that was too small and not productive enough. There would have been room for everyone, or the settles would have moved there land wasn’t occupied. Come on. You can’t say life in America was one way, when it was the exact opposite. Just don’t write anything about it if you don’t want to touch on it; you don’t lie to people, even if they are kids.
The story abandoned Thanksgiving altogether as it seemed to highlight the Industrial Age or something. Roads, cities, bridges and workshops were built. Boats and wagons and trains were methods of travel. But people had to work, and played when the work was done. Totally exciting. So the page read “Work and Play” and had a train, wagon and ship, a fair, and people dancing and singing. “These are the blessings of work and play.”
Papa Bear then mentioned they’re thankful for family and friends. The “Family and Friends” page showed Gramps and Gran and Farmer Ben and his wife. It wasn’t interesting to read about, not something that really captures and holds the attention.
The family sang another little snippet of song, which wasn’t good.
“Over the river and through the woods, now grandmother’s cap I spy! Hurrah for the fun! Is the pudding done? Hurrah for the pumpkin pie!” And Honey gets out a final echo just to slam home the annoyance of her existence. “Pie!”
The only funny part was when Sister said “But Gran doesn’t have a cap. She has a scarf.” And Brother said “Well, I spy it anyway—through the kitchen window.”
Then, to further grate on my nerves, when Gramps asks the cubs if they’re ready for the Thanksgiving feast, Sister told him “But, you know, we should also think about all our Thanksgiving blessings.” Nothing more annoying than a little kid talking down to an adult. That is so wrong and so utterly aggravating. I can’t stand when kids talk down to adults. Ugh, it makes me sick. Just because their parents taught them something, they have to act like little know it alls and now teach anyone else—even their elders.
At least Gramps said he always does, and he’s most thankful for Grizzly Gran, the best cook in Bear Country. In that irritating way that grandmas seem to have, Gran scolded him and told him to stop his nonsense and help with the food. Can’t take a compliment. Maybe Sister will realize Gramps might know more than she does about Thanksgiving and being thankful.
The lessons weren’t over as Brother remarked he wished there were Native Bears to share the feast with them, and Gramps said he had a great, great grandma that was one-quarter Native Bear and he’s ready to share, and Gran piped in and asked him if he was forgetting something. Then they bowed their heads and gave the blessing and we get the laundry list all over again. “Thank you for blessings of faith and freedom, of peace and plenty, of work and play, and of family and friends. And last, and least, he mentioned the feast.
This wasn't the story I was looking for, unless I wanted a list of things I should be thankful for and a sugarcoated interpretation of history. I think I'll try to stick with the original Berentain writers and forego the newer ones because they're just too different and modern and miss the mark and the feel that the classic ones had. This had none of the Thanksgiving spirit I was looking for, and the cover with that lively sleigh ride over the bridge with people fishing in the river and birds singing and a person waving from a little stone house was pretty misleading, because it had none of that life to it.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
November 26, 2016
It’s really weird that the cover looks like a Christmas book. It could snow on Thanksgiving in some places, but the sleigh makes it look like a Christmas novel.
‘It was Autumn in Bear country, and Thanksgiving Day was here. But an early snowstorm was making things look more like Christmas.’ You said it!
It’s weird to include a song from the ‘human world’ in here, because they usually don’t do that.
‘“I can’t wait for Thanksgiving dinner!” said Brother.
“Me, neither,” said Sister.
“Neither!” yelled Honey.’
Are you telling me the horse talked?
Omg it wasn’t until 7 pages in that I noticed another kid in the sleigh!! What in the world! Did they have more kids? So I take it the kid is named Honey, and not the horse…
It really gets old how the mother always acts like a do-gooder, know it all. They’re talking about all the Thanksgiving food, and she says “Of course, there’s more to Thanksgiving Day than just eating lots of yummy food.”
And sister says “Like the blessing of food?” which is a pretty good answer, and something to be thankful for, and Papa’s like “Well…there are many other Thanksgiving blessings to remember. For instance, the blessings of faith and freedom.”
It’s important to tell kids of their history, and the real meanings behind holidays, but it’s also kind of heavy for them, and just annoying to point it out.
This is what I was talking about earlier, how it was weird to have the song To Grandmother’s House, when they always change everything else to fit bears. Like ‘Pilgrim Bears.’ And Mayflower to Bearflower. And ‘Native Bears.’
I’ve been reading several feel-good Thanksgiving books, the glossed-over false versions, and some that mention the truth, which shatters illusions most of have of Thanksgiving, not to mention that wasn’t even the first thanksgiving! Because I’ve had my eyes opened, I don’t really like reading the false, glorified versions of our past, and I wish authors would delve into the true history of it, so they’d put out facts, and not more lies about the pilgrims and the natives.
‘They farmed the land and made it bloom. It was a rich and fruitful place. Then enemies came from across the sea and tried to take it all away. There was war and suffering. But peace came, at last, and the land was safe.’ Omg, I love what they’re brushing over! Enemies came and tried to take their land! It wasn’t really their land! What about them taking the Natives land!?
I assume from the drawings that their referring to the British?
It’s weird to have “Pie!” yelled Honey. And then in a dialogue bubble have “Pie!” again. they did that at the beginning of the book, too.
“But Gran doesn’t have a cap,” said Sister. “She has a scarf.”
Did anybody mention a hat?
“And the Thanksgiving blessing I think about most is Grizzly Gran, herself--the best cook in Bear Country!” that was sweet.
“Now, Gramps,’ scolded Gran. “Stop your nonsense and help get the food on.”
These no-nonsense people wear me out.
“It’s a shame there aren’t any Native Bears here to share it with us,” said Brother.’ That was sweet of him to think of.
“Never fear,” said Gramps, seating himself at the head of the table. “My great, great grandmother was one-quarter Native Bear and I am ready to share. Let’s eat!”
That put an abrupt end to Brothers sentimentality. &was sort of bizarre. Idt that’s what Brother meant.
It was weird how Gramps prayer included everything the parents were telling the kids, down to the exact wording. ‘Thank you for the blessings of faith and freedom, of peace and plenty, of work and play, and of family and friends.’ He had no idea what they were telling the kids, so how would he know everything they said?
It got old how everything they mentioned was included in a banner on the next page, as if we wouldn’t know what was being illustrated. It was repetitive. ‘Faith and freedom,’ ‘peace and plenty,’ ‘work and play,’ and ‘family and friends.’
There’s many things we should be thankful for, but everyone feels differently. So if the kids are thankful for food, that’s fine. They shouldn’t be made to feel bad.
Also the books don’t really coincide. I just read the other day The Berenstain Bears and the Prize Pumpkin, which was also a thanksgiving book. And Papa Bear was getting caught up in the pumpkin contest, and forgetting the meaning of Thanksgiving. He also did that in Berenstain Bears Thanksgiving, which is also along the same lines. All three taught the meaning of Thanksgiving. How many times do they need to be taught?
Also, the writing in each Berenstain Bears book I’ve read is different. No two are the same. It’s like they’ve all been written by different people. Some are short rhymes, others have more words, and sound poetic and are written well.
I liked the quant, cute looking drawings, but the book was just ok.
‘It was Autumn in Bear country, and Thanksgiving Day was here. But an early snowstorm was making things look more like Christmas.’ You said it!
It’s weird to include a song from the ‘human world’ in here, because they usually don’t do that.
‘“I can’t wait for Thanksgiving dinner!” said Brother.
“Me, neither,” said Sister.
“Neither!” yelled Honey.’
Are you telling me the horse talked?
Omg it wasn’t until 7 pages in that I noticed another kid in the sleigh!! What in the world! Did they have more kids? So I take it the kid is named Honey, and not the horse…
It really gets old how the mother always acts like a do-gooder, know it all. They’re talking about all the Thanksgiving food, and she says “Of course, there’s more to Thanksgiving Day than just eating lots of yummy food.”
And sister says “Like the blessing of food?” which is a pretty good answer, and something to be thankful for, and Papa’s like “Well…there are many other Thanksgiving blessings to remember. For instance, the blessings of faith and freedom.”
It’s important to tell kids of their history, and the real meanings behind holidays, but it’s also kind of heavy for them, and just annoying to point it out.
This is what I was talking about earlier, how it was weird to have the song To Grandmother’s House, when they always change everything else to fit bears. Like ‘Pilgrim Bears.’ And Mayflower to Bearflower. And ‘Native Bears.’
I’ve been reading several feel-good Thanksgiving books, the glossed-over false versions, and some that mention the truth, which shatters illusions most of have of Thanksgiving, not to mention that wasn’t even the first thanksgiving! Because I’ve had my eyes opened, I don’t really like reading the false, glorified versions of our past, and I wish authors would delve into the true history of it, so they’d put out facts, and not more lies about the pilgrims and the natives.
‘They farmed the land and made it bloom. It was a rich and fruitful place. Then enemies came from across the sea and tried to take it all away. There was war and suffering. But peace came, at last, and the land was safe.’ Omg, I love what they’re brushing over! Enemies came and tried to take their land! It wasn’t really their land! What about them taking the Natives land!?
I assume from the drawings that their referring to the British?
It’s weird to have “Pie!” yelled Honey. And then in a dialogue bubble have “Pie!” again. they did that at the beginning of the book, too.
“But Gran doesn’t have a cap,” said Sister. “She has a scarf.”
Did anybody mention a hat?
“And the Thanksgiving blessing I think about most is Grizzly Gran, herself--the best cook in Bear Country!” that was sweet.
“Now, Gramps,’ scolded Gran. “Stop your nonsense and help get the food on.”
These no-nonsense people wear me out.
“It’s a shame there aren’t any Native Bears here to share it with us,” said Brother.’ That was sweet of him to think of.
“Never fear,” said Gramps, seating himself at the head of the table. “My great, great grandmother was one-quarter Native Bear and I am ready to share. Let’s eat!”
That put an abrupt end to Brothers sentimentality. &was sort of bizarre. Idt that’s what Brother meant.
It was weird how Gramps prayer included everything the parents were telling the kids, down to the exact wording. ‘Thank you for the blessings of faith and freedom, of peace and plenty, of work and play, and of family and friends.’ He had no idea what they were telling the kids, so how would he know everything they said?
It got old how everything they mentioned was included in a banner on the next page, as if we wouldn’t know what was being illustrated. It was repetitive. ‘Faith and freedom,’ ‘peace and plenty,’ ‘work and play,’ and ‘family and friends.’
There’s many things we should be thankful for, but everyone feels differently. So if the kids are thankful for food, that’s fine. They shouldn’t be made to feel bad.
Also the books don’t really coincide. I just read the other day The Berenstain Bears and the Prize Pumpkin, which was also a thanksgiving book. And Papa Bear was getting caught up in the pumpkin contest, and forgetting the meaning of Thanksgiving. He also did that in Berenstain Bears Thanksgiving, which is also along the same lines. All three taught the meaning of Thanksgiving. How many times do they need to be taught?
Also, the writing in each Berenstain Bears book I’ve read is different. No two are the same. It’s like they’ve all been written by different people. Some are short rhymes, others have more words, and sound poetic and are written well.
I liked the quant, cute looking drawings, but the book was just ok.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
October 23, 2023
We love Berenstain Bears, even the new ones the son has created 🙂 I also love Thanksgiving books that point our attention to God, the giver of all our blessings🧡 But some of the wording retelling our American history in this book was a bit off so I’m not sure I’ll be rereading it again next Thanksgiving.
December 11, 2013
In this Berenstain Bears book – Thanksgiving Blessings – the Bear Family is thankful for many things on Thanksgiving Day. Among these are faith and freedom and family and friends. The Bears ponder these things as Papa Bear tells the history of how the Europeans first came to America and why they came. He also talks of being thankful for work and play.
As the Bears arrive at Grizzly Gramps’ and Gran’s house for Thanksgiving dinner, they are even more mindful than they were at the start of their journey of how many Thanksgiving Blessings they have.
This story is another good one in the collection of Berenstain Bears holiday books that have been released over the last few years. There is not too much of a story here but rather an explanation of various blessings to be thankful for during this time of year. However, my four-year-old daughter enjoyed it, and she also really liked the stickers that were included with the book. Her favorite part of the book was the song “Over the River and Through the Woods,” which, of course, I sang to her as we read the book.
I thought the content was appropriate for ages 4-8, which is the age range given for this book. It explains the history of Thanksgiving and mentions the Native Bears as sharing food for the first feast.
The Berenstain Bears are a favorite of mine, and I think this little book is a good addition to our Bears library.
Read my complete review here: http://shoopettesbookreviews.blogspot...
As the Bears arrive at Grizzly Gramps’ and Gran’s house for Thanksgiving dinner, they are even more mindful than they were at the start of their journey of how many Thanksgiving Blessings they have.
This story is another good one in the collection of Berenstain Bears holiday books that have been released over the last few years. There is not too much of a story here but rather an explanation of various blessings to be thankful for during this time of year. However, my four-year-old daughter enjoyed it, and she also really liked the stickers that were included with the book. Her favorite part of the book was the song “Over the River and Through the Woods,” which, of course, I sang to her as we read the book.
I thought the content was appropriate for ages 4-8, which is the age range given for this book. It explains the history of Thanksgiving and mentions the Native Bears as sharing food for the first feast.
The Berenstain Bears are a favorite of mine, and I think this little book is a good addition to our Bears library.
Read my complete review here: http://shoopettesbookreviews.blogspot...
November 16, 2014
“Thanksgiving Blessings” is a shiny paper cover book for children ages 4-8. It has adorable illustrations on each page. All scripture references unless otherwise noted are from the NIV Bible. This book also sports a page of stickers from each point featured in the book.
Who doesn’t love the Berenstain Bears? This is another adorably written Berenstain Bear book, “Thanksgiving Blessings”. This book also uses excerpts of the song, “Over the River and Through the Woods”, by Lydia Child, to help make their Thanksgiving journey more fun. On their journey your child will learn not only to be thankful for things such as food and toys, but also to be thankful for family, faith, work and play, just to name a few. It ends with a great feast of Thanksgiving. The beautifully illustrated sticker page is sure to delight children of all ages.
I would highly recommend this book not only at Thanksgiving but any time you are trying to teach your youngster about being thankful.
Disclosure: I was given a copy of this Book by the publisher, ZonderKidz, for an honest review. I was not required to write a favorable review nor was I compensated for my review. The opinions in this review are my own.
Who doesn’t love the Berenstain Bears? This is another adorably written Berenstain Bear book, “Thanksgiving Blessings”. This book also uses excerpts of the song, “Over the River and Through the Woods”, by Lydia Child, to help make their Thanksgiving journey more fun. On their journey your child will learn not only to be thankful for things such as food and toys, but also to be thankful for family, faith, work and play, just to name a few. It ends with a great feast of Thanksgiving. The beautifully illustrated sticker page is sure to delight children of all ages.
I would highly recommend this book not only at Thanksgiving but any time you are trying to teach your youngster about being thankful.
Disclosure: I was given a copy of this Book by the publisher, ZonderKidz, for an honest review. I was not required to write a favorable review nor was I compensated for my review. The opinions in this review are my own.
December 10, 2014
Title: THE BERENSTAIN BEARS THANKSGIVING BLESSINGS
Author: Mike Berenstain
Publisher: Zonderkidz
August 2014
ISBN: 978-0310734871
Genre: Early readers / Religious holidays / Thanksgiving
The Berenstain Bears Thanksgiving Blessings
Ride along with the Bear family on Thanksgiving Day as Brother and Sister learn about all the things they—and YOU—can be thankful for … including faith, family, and the huge feast waiting for them at the end of their journey to Gramp’s and Gran’s. Includes a sheet of colorful stickers featuring the whole Bear family.
My thoughts: This is an interesting sweet story about family gathering for Thanksgiving. Makes mention of some of the many blessings we enjoy in our country due to our current freedoms and talks about the history of Thanksgiving.
For children toddlers, preschoolers or beginning elementary.
I’m late for this Thanksgiving, but if you order it now you will have it for next year. Great book.
24 pages. Available in ebook and paperback. Ages 4 - 8
Author: Mike Berenstain
Publisher: Zonderkidz
August 2014
ISBN: 978-0310734871
Genre: Early readers / Religious holidays / Thanksgiving
The Berenstain Bears Thanksgiving Blessings
Ride along with the Bear family on Thanksgiving Day as Brother and Sister learn about all the things they—and YOU—can be thankful for … including faith, family, and the huge feast waiting for them at the end of their journey to Gramp’s and Gran’s. Includes a sheet of colorful stickers featuring the whole Bear family.
My thoughts: This is an interesting sweet story about family gathering for Thanksgiving. Makes mention of some of the many blessings we enjoy in our country due to our current freedoms and talks about the history of Thanksgiving.
For children toddlers, preschoolers or beginning elementary.
I’m late for this Thanksgiving, but if you order it now you will have it for next year. Great book.
24 pages. Available in ebook and paperback. Ages 4 - 8
November 26, 2013
Let them give thanks to the Lord for his unfailing love and his wonderful deeds for mankind, for he satisfies the thirsty and fills the hungry with good things. - Psalm 107: 8-9
We truly enjoy the Berenstain Bears books around here and this Living Lights Christian inspiration 8x8" is a treasure. It reminds me of the The Berenstain Bears' Old-Fashioned Christmas big book from a year or so past. Full of music and family fun and even stickers. This is a great touch on a classic Thanksgiving poem.
I received this product free for the purpose of reviewing it. I received no other compensation for this review. The opinions expressed in this review are my personal, honest opinions. Your experience may vary. Please read my full disclosure policy for more details.
We truly enjoy the Berenstain Bears books around here and this Living Lights Christian inspiration 8x8" is a treasure. It reminds me of the The Berenstain Bears' Old-Fashioned Christmas big book from a year or so past. Full of music and family fun and even stickers. This is a great touch on a classic Thanksgiving poem.
I received this product free for the purpose of reviewing it. I received no other compensation for this review. The opinions expressed in this review are my personal, honest opinions. Your experience may vary. Please read my full disclosure policy for more details.
November 3, 2016
I really liked this book. It was surprisingly religious and really focused on being thankful for Thanksgiving. It also had a lot of history in it.
While it was a little wordy for a bedtime story, I felt that this book has a lot of offer young kids. My daughter is a little young to comprehend what it was saying, but it is definitely something I will pick up each year as she gets older.
The illustrations were typical Berenstain bears style. It had Honey (as a toddler) in it, so it was a more recent edition. I also liked that is incorporated the song "Over the River and through the woods". I have always loved that song!
Overall this is a great book! I just wish it was a little less wordy.
While it was a little wordy for a bedtime story, I felt that this book has a lot of offer young kids. My daughter is a little young to comprehend what it was saying, but it is definitely something I will pick up each year as she gets older.
The illustrations were typical Berenstain bears style. It had Honey (as a toddler) in it, so it was a more recent edition. I also liked that is incorporated the song "Over the River and through the woods". I have always loved that song!
Overall this is a great book! I just wish it was a little less wordy.
November 25, 2014
Not too preachy. Just helping everyone realize what their basic blessings are, including our freedom of faith.
July 14, 2017
A traditional Thanksgiving day with the bears. Pair this book with the song and it's perfect.
November 17, 2021
The Berenstain Bears Thanksgiving Blessing is a book for all children. The book is a must-have on your bookshelves if you are a Berenstain Bears fan. This book helps teach children about Thanksgiving and being thankful for the blessing that you have.
This book teaches Mama and Papa as they ride through the woods to their grans and gramps place for Thanksgiving dinner. They teach about how the native Bears and pilgrims shared and started the whole Thanksgiving feast and what it means to be thankful for all the blessings you have.
The blessing is quite a few things we have somewhat forgotten we came to have. Some of the blessings are Family and Friends, Faith, and religion. A few others. The cubs do mention a song that is a favorite of mine. The song is “Over the river and Through the woods.”
What will your child or children learn about the history of holidays and celebrations? This book teaches a bit about it. What is your child or children learning to be Thankful for during the season? Are we teaching that children should be thankful for the blessing that they have? The many blessings we have in life have continued told in this book.
This book teaches Mama and Papa as they ride through the woods to their grans and gramps place for Thanksgiving dinner. They teach about how the native Bears and pilgrims shared and started the whole Thanksgiving feast and what it means to be thankful for all the blessings you have.
The blessing is quite a few things we have somewhat forgotten we came to have. Some of the blessings are Family and Friends, Faith, and religion. A few others. The cubs do mention a song that is a favorite of mine. The song is “Over the river and Through the woods.”
What will your child or children learn about the history of holidays and celebrations? This book teaches a bit about it. What is your child or children learning to be Thankful for during the season? Are we teaching that children should be thankful for the blessing that they have? The many blessings we have in life have continued told in this book.
December 5, 2025
I preferred this to the "Give Thanks" Berenstain Bears Thankgiving themed book. I don't love when a series has more then one for the same holiday & this book seemed to more strongly reflect the feeling & important aspects. Why bother with the other version? I do wish the story hadn't gotten so drawn out into American history like the Revolutionary War & 4th of July. Just stick with the historical events of Thanksgiving & don't mix up holidays.
November 27, 2020
This is a pretty generic story, but I appreciate the message. If you think about the basics of the holiday and nothing else, it's cute to celebrate.
February 3, 2024
Not what I grew up with a child, nor would I recommend this to any parent. It's for lobotomy patients.
November 27, 2025
a thanksgiving must read in our home
Read
November 26, 202411/14/2024 Grandmama bought this book for us.
November 12, 2018
This book is part of the "Living Lights A Faith Story" series that the Berenstain Bears have. If you are a Christian and or believe in God-Jesus you will appreciate and enjoy this book. The family is headed to their Grandparents for Thanksgiving and on the way there Papa and Mama tell the cubs about the History of the pilgrims, and how people fought to give us freedom, etc. Teaching the cubs (and the reader-listener) that Thanksgiving is more than just eating. But thankfulness for freedom, faith, peace and plenty, work and play, and family.
Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews