The Berenstain Bears Go Back to School
Kindergarten-Grade 3–This offering does little to reassure children about a new experience. Basically, it gives a tour of a school and describes some activities. The principal is made of stern stuff and has a bench …where naughty cubs wait,/sitting so quietly/awaiting their fate. Teacher Jane says, â€˜You know I've got eyes in the back of my head,' and, as illustrated, one cub imagines her with two sets of eyes. Teacher Bob introduces himself by saying, â€˜Third grade is hard./Third grade is tough./There's no more easy/First-gradish stuff.' The cadence of the verse and the bright, busy illustrations in typical Berenstain style are appealing, but some of the vocabulary will be challenging for kindergartners, who will probably not recognize themselves as …doing their very best to cope. First- through third-graders will relate better to the setting and be able to read this book independently, but why would they want to? The text says, Though school is a challenge,/it can also be fun. True, but the only fun parts shown here are recess and going home.–Lynda Ritterman, Atco Elementary School, Waterford, NJCopyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.--This text refers to theHardcoveredition.