Berenstain Bears Sell Out

As a kid, I loved reading the Berenstain Bear books. My Mom kept all of them so I was able to pass them on to my son. And he likewise loves them. Reading through all of the old ones there is a distinct 80’s ness about them. But they’re still good. Unlike a lot of old things, there really isn’t anything that turns out to be subtly racist/sexist or something else when viewed from a modern lens.

So when we picked up a more recently written book, “The Berenstain Bears Go Out to Eat” I was expecting more of the same. It was written twenty years later than the ones from my childhood, so I expected some differences, but not this.

The basic idea feels like a classic Berenstain bear book. The Bear family goes out to eat. Perfect opportunity to learn a lesson about manners or something. But, nothing happens. They go out, they have to wait, but its not a challenge for anyone. The kids aren’t impatient or anything.

The only thing that really happens is that Mama Bear is a jerk. The premise of going out was so Mama wouldn’t have to cook. It was “her” night out. Right off the bat, that feels more old-fashioned and out of date than any of the books written twenty years ago.

She takes every opportunity to remind everyone that it’s “her” night out. The kids have to eat broccoli with their dinner and they can’t argue because it’s “her” night out. Sure, kids should eat vegetables but because they’re good for you, not because it’s Mama’s night out.

There isn’t even a lesson in there about being selfish. The family is taking Mama out but they’re never selfish and forget to be nice. They could have intended to be nice but then acted selfishly and learned a lesson about that. Instead, the kids and Papa were well behaved, friendly, and helpful the whole evening. Mama was a jerk insisting that because it’s “her” night out, she gets everything her way, no argument. What kind of lesson is that?

So, as a writer, this book offended me. Nothing happened and it was boring. As a parent, this offended me because why is Mama a jerk? As a progressive, this offended me because why was Mama the only one cooking in the first place?