The Berenstain Bears and the Bad Dream

The Berenstain Bears

by Stan Berenstain, Jan Berenstain

This classic Berenstain Bears story is a perfect way to allay any child’s worries about bedtime and nightmares! 

Come for a visit in Bear Country with this classic First Time Book® from Stan and Jan Berenstain. Brother and Sister have started having bad dreams. Now it’s up to Mama and Papa to help them understand that even though bad dreams can be scary, they aren’t real. Includes over 50 bonus stickers!

Genres: Childrens, Picture Books, Fiction, Animals, Classics, Juvenile, Young Adult

32 pages, Paperback

First published May 1, 1988

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 3 out of 5]

This has a good message about dreams and what's going on. I think it was good for the kids as they do have some bad dreams. As an adult, it wasn't the best story in my mind. The kids gave it 4 stars. I guess it all comes down to perspective.

I did like the opening quote:
" Some dreams make cubs laugh.
Some dreams make them cry.
It's interesting to think about what they dream and why."

The Bears are still popular in our house. On we go.

[Katt Hansen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Once again, the Berenstain Bears jump in to help the child understand life. Personally, this is one my favorite books in the series because it tackles something that every child can understand, but that few explain even half so well.

While there is an awful lot of backstory in this book to explain the dream - at the same time, I'm kind of glad the author took their time to explain the origins of the dreams, so that the child can see clearly that there are definite reasons for the dreams that plague us at night. I love the explanation at the end, and how everything resolves. I love that even Brother is shown as having bad dreams sometimes, as small children tend to think they're the only ones who get scared by such things.

Overall, I like this book a lot. This is definitely one to read with your child.

[Vanessa Patel]

who liked the space grizzles

[Tessa Hensley · Rating 3 out of 5]

Brother thinks he is too old to have bad dreams, and Sister knows she will be too scared to watch Brother's space show. They end up playing with his new action figures anyway, but only if Brother will play some of Sister's games too. Eventually they both have bad dreams, but mom and dad explain it to them and make them feel better.

This book has very detailed illustrations that go really well with the story. From reading this book kids can learn what a bad dream is called (nightmare) and why they happen. The parents in this book do a very good explanation to Sister about nightmares and so she then gets to teach Brother what they are.

In class I can teach certain students something in depth and then let them loose to go explain the concept to their classmates. At the end we will come together and see if everyone understands what they learned. Afterwards I'll take the other students and let them do the teaching. This will be a good way for students to practice explaining themselves to other people and it will help them attain the information better.

[Ella Rose · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've read this over and over again its so good and it teaches a good lesson for young kids

[Bronwyn · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a bit long, but it has a good message about how dreams work that I hope will help my son.

Additional dates read (first for year): January 2, 2021

[Luisa Knight · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was an absolute favorite! I never tired of this book!

Ages: 4 -8

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

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[Matthew Ledrew · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Berenstain Bears and the Bad Dream. This book, is awesome. Brother Bear has these action figures he loves and a movie comes out based on them, but it’s aimed at an older demographic. He begs and begs and eventually gets to go, then has bad dreams as a result.

I think this is a fairly relevant issue, both when it was written and today. This book came to mind a few years back when I was at a screening of The Dark Knight and there were seven-year-old's there. Those kids definitely had nightmares. Did those parents even see the rating? But it’s not entirely their fault. When millions of dollars get sunk into marketing your character to kids and then you make a movie not for kids, there’s going to be issues.

They should have played the 60’s Batman movie in all the theaters next door. The kids would have never known the difference.

Read the full review at TheBookCloset

[Beth · Rating 5 out of 5]

This has to be my favorite of "The Berenstain Bears" series. It does such a great job of explaining the (un)reality of nightmares in a way even young children can understand. I think it has helped my daughter manage her feelings about bedtime and nighttime.

That, and it is utterly fun and hilarious. When my daughter was two, I used to tweak the wording a bit in certain sections dealing with evil lords and planet destruction, but now that she's five we just enjoy the ride. The part where Brother dreams he's a paper doll and his clothes are falling off (leaving him running in an undershirt and shorts) gets a fit of giggles still. And then when it's all over, we realize we just had a valuable life lesson reinforced.

I'll leave the sorting out of which is the highlight and which is the bonus to you and yours. Happy reading!

[Olivia Bailey · Rating 2 out of 5]

The book explains what nightmares (bad dreams) are. Students can relate to this book book because a lot of children have bad dreams. It can ease the studnets if they had a bad dream the night before or that they remembered.

This book could also be a writing inspiration for students to write about a nightmare they had. They can use the book to get ideas. There story could be fictional or true. This allows them to release the anxiety or any bad emotions about nightmares.
Another writing activity could be students writing about something they really liked. The book shows how nearly obsessed brother was with the space toys. Students can write about something they really like or a hobby they like to do.

[Connie · Rating 3 out of 5]

You can stock your library with Berenstain Bears books, they're that cheap. And we all remember them from our own childhoods.

Unfortunately, they're really pretty wordy books. A lot of children in the age range for these books simply can't sit still through them.

This book takes it a bit further in that most of it is not about the bad dream at all, but about the events leading *up* to the bad dream. Which is great and realistic, but which may lead a small child (or a grown-up) to wonder what the point is? The story could easily have been told in half the pages and - and this I *know* because I self-edit as I read - a third of the words.

[Sam · Rating 1 out of 5]

One portion of Brother Bear's dream is of being a paper doll and his clothes coming off. In these young readers, it's annoying to have such unneeded distractions including a picture of this. I'd rather just read a book with my little one(s) and not have the child(ren) disturbed and spend time dealing with that in conversation. Life provides enough opportunity for that--so unnecessary to the book/story. Another child would think nothing of it, I'm sure. But why put it in there for those it does? It only detracts.

[Shelli · Rating 3 out of 5]

Stan and Jan Berenstain have a wonderful way of explaining situations that pop up in life in a way that makes sense to small children. In this book both Brother and Sister Bear have a nightmare and need to run to Mama and Papa's room to calm down. While I doubt this book will stop kiddos from getting upset over bad dreams, this may help parents on how to talk to their kids about them. The reminder of this book and how other kids, or cubs, have this same thing happen may calm your child down and give them comfort.

[Rosa Cline · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is a really good way of explaining dreams to your older children (younger ones may not fully understand) but this was a very good explanation. Brother Bear enjoys a specific toy but it scares Sister. But she starts coming around to playing with them with Brother. But then later has a bad dream and goes to her parents bed and as they comfort her they explain what and why you have nightmares. Then not long after Brother has a bad dream and comes to Papa for comfort and Sister is able to explain to Brother what her parents just explained to her.

[Stef · Rating 2 out of 5]

Brother Bear is obsessed with Space Grizzlies toys, while Sister finds them scary, and both of them wind up having bad dreams about them. This book took forever to the dream part: It was mostly about Brother getting SGs and coercing Sister to play with him, and then going to see the SG movie. The last fourth of the book is about the bad dreams, which were a mixed-up jumble of all the things they did or thought of that day. I don't have much more to say about this one, only that The Magical Toeshoes movie sounds truly awful.

[Dusty · Rating 3 out of 5]

One of the strengths of the Berenstain books is their strength of focus, usually on a lesson relevant to the lives of children. A lesson -- a good one, about not worrying too much about scary dreams -- comes in the last few pages of this book, but everything up to that is beside the point. Both the story and the illustrations feel pieced together from scraps that didn't make it into earlier stories. Then again, maybe cohesion is not a virtue in kids' books -- my son loves this one.

[Shacoria · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is a cute little children's book. It has that whole 'typical children's book' feel to it where you know that at the end of it everything is going to work out and everyone will learn a lesson. It's a very wholesome and innocent sort of book. I am planning to read many of the books in this series over the next few days.

[Jonah · Rating 2 out of 5]

I've started to re-read these books with my son and this one didn't have a good flow like other Berenstain Bear books. It didn't have a resolve just an explanation of what a bad dream is. I expected them to either face their fears or learn to handle nightmare situations. The story built and didn't go anywhere in the end, so I was left unsatisfied with the story.

[Chelsea Horton · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book is about brother bear and sister bear having bad dreams. Sister bear saw a ballerina movie while brother bear saw a space movie. Still they both were scared of the same space people because brother bear plays with them all the time. I thought this book was just alright. I mean it was good, but I guess I was bored. It needed to speed up a bit or else I was going to fall asleep!

[Nick · Rating 5 out of 5]

My favorite Berenstain Bears book from when I was a child, I don't think the message/theme portrayed in this one hit home with my 2-year old like some of the other Bears books tend to. It's visually one of the more fun books in the series, and does a good job getting the entire family involved in the story.

[Trisha Daniel · Rating 5 out of 5]

It is amazing how much we hold in our memories and how much of that affects our dreams. I can understand how afraid Brother and Sister were when they had their nightmares, I have had a few growing up. It is one of those occurrences all children have. They just bring out their imagination and creativity.

[Dolly · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a fantastic book that explains nightmares in a way that children can understand. It seems to be a bit longer than the average Berenstain Bears book, but our girls really liked the story and asked to read it again!

We've borrowed this one from the library a few times.

[Simon · Rating 5 out of 5]

Just picked this up; my Mom was describing using it in a tutoring program. Sister and Brother learn about nightmares after too much time with their "Space Grizzly" toys. Any parent or anyone who cares about young kids reading should hope these books are around forever.

[chucklesthescot · Rating 4 out of 5]

Brother Bear really wants to see a new film that is coming out but Sister Bear thinks that it sounds too scary and goes to watch something different. However both Bears have similar nightmares and their parents try to explain to them what causes bad dreams.

[Jaime · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is one of the best Berenstein Bears books because of the way it handled the touchy subject of excessive horror movie watching and violence. I have always been a fan of how the authors handle touchy subjects. This is another excellent book for youth.

[Sarah Winters · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is something many students can relate to and would find some humor in it. I think the pictures are really creative and add to the story. It's smaller than most in the series so it appeals to a larger audience. Recommended for first to fourth graders.

[Stacey · Rating 5 out of 5]

Students can relate to this book about having bad dreams. We all have bad dreams sometime in our life. This book will help the younger children understand what causes bad dreams. This would be a good book to read for a read a loud allowing students to conquer their fears.

[Genevieve · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book was about a bad dream. I really, really didn't like this book because it was scary and I wouldn't recommend it because I wouldn't want other people to have a bad dream. I didn't have a favourite character.

[Shannon · Rating 4 out of 5]

03/16: Feverishly trying to manually import reviews on over 3,000 books from Shelfari to Goodreads. As I am cutting and pasting, I'll keep just this one book in the series posted. Suffice it to say the boys read and enjoyed many, many books in this silly series. They enjoyed them.

[angrykitty · Rating 5 out of 5]

i thought this one was awesome. i loved how all the little action figures looked. you had kick-assed little bear action figures.....totally rocked!