Talk:Berenstain Bears

message: One of my favorite books when I was a kid was "The Berenstain Bears and the Spooky Old Tree."  It does not appear to be listed here... I remember it featured only Brother and Sister Bear, and they were exploring the interior of a mammoth tree which combined equal parts cave (bats, dripping water, etc) and haunted house (there were staircases and evil-looking paintings in the interior)  I remember the repeated tagline, "Do they dare (insert action here)?"  and on the next page, "They dare!"  Tmorrisey 21:53, 23 December 2005 (UTC)
replies: text: I added this one. Found it at Powell's. — Coelacan | talk 03:01, 17 October 2006 (UTC)
thread_title:  missing book 

message: There is no longer a themed section of Berenstain Bears at Cedar Point, much to my dismay.  They have converted it to a Peanuts cartoon theme, although one can still see remnants of the unique Berenstain Bears-style architecture.  If your curious, there was an indoor and outdoor section.  Inside, there was a whole library of all the Berenstain Bears books, some woods (denoted by plastic trees and colored carpeting), a lab and other things I don't quite remember.  The lab had this really cool bicycle that would power a lightbulb, lightning globes/plasma spheres, etc.   Outside they had a sandpit, a little train, and a replica of the Berenstain Bears's home!   I'm not the only one bitter about it turning into a Peanuts gift shop...
--Macrowiz 15:11, 22 May 2006 (UTC)
thread_title:  Cedar Point 

message: I own a  book, "The Berenstein Bears and the Busy Beavers" or something like that. They were given away in a kid's meal or some promotion. It is not mentioned and I know that 3 other books are mentioned on the back cover of the book. Anyone know about these and why they aren't listed? 162.83.123.76 02:40, 6 November 2006 (UTC)
thread_title:  Happy Meal Books? 

message: This page seems very listy... is this really necessary? Timbatron 20:06, 14 November 2006 (UTC)
thread_title:  Listcruft? 

message: I wish someone would please list the books in chronological order as they were published, or maybe put the year they were first published at the end of each title. Like they do for other authors. Whoever out there knows the dates, please try. I would like to know which were the books from the 70s and 80s, regardless of their format. The article only makes clear that The Big Honey Hunt was the first. I would find it very helpful.  —Preceding unsigned comment added by 209.47.31.5 (talk) 06:46, 16 September 2007 (UTC)
thread_title:  Chronology of the Books? 

message: Has there ever any controversy over the fact that this book promotes religion to young children? 70.179.52.204 (talk) 03:36, 14 November 2008 (UTC)
replies: text: Over the past 5 years about seven of the Bears' books have been overtly Christian.  Although there has been some discussion on the internet, I would not call it a "controversy."  Personally it has caused some annoyance; my child got hooked on the books and will grab anything with the Bears on the cover.  We are not a Christian family, and it's hard to explain why I won't read those but WILL read "The Messy Room."  There is one "The Berenstain Bears Do Their Best" which is a complete blindside.  --Bridgecross (talk) 17:16, 25 May 2010 (UTC)
replies: text: Over the years, my parents and I often heard from Christian families how much they appreciate the values-based themes of our books. By dealing with religion through the fun and laughter of the Berenstain Bears, we hope to nurture these families in their goal of raising children secure in their faith.
Jerryfern (talk) 17:08, 18 October 2010 (UTC)
thread_title:  ''The Berenstain Bears and the Big Question'' 

message: There isn't any mention in the article that the Berenstain Bears are meant to be Jewish, although they have been added to :Category:Fictional Jews.  Even though Stan & Jan say the bears are modeled after themselves, no mention is made that the authors are Jewish, either. - Gilliam (talk) 03:48, 16 September 2010 (UTC)
replies: text: If you accept the recently published titles specifically targeted at Christian audiences as canon, they are Christian, or perhaps more specifically Quaker from what I've read elsewhere. ProfessorTofty (talk) 05:38, 8 August 2012 (UTC)
thread_title:  :Category:Fictional Jews 

message: ...I'd like to state that I was a HUGE fan of the Berenstain Bears as a kid, I still like them, and if I had a kid, I'd be happy for them to read the books. My persistent defense of the parts of the article that discuss criticism of the series is not because I have any kind of vendetta against the franchise; it's because, as far as I can see, there's no argument that this isn't significant, notable content. The Krauthammer piece was widely quoted as part of Stan Berenstain's obituary, for heaven's sake. And, oh my GOD, is it more interesting than a "Praise" section consisting of a few random quotes about how flippin' awesome the Berenstain Bears are. At least, I think so.
I would actually like to include more content in praise of the Bears, but I've had difficulty finding adequate sources. As I see it, the sources for the negative criticism are significant pieces, by significant writers, in significant publications. I don't want to tack on to the end, "Oh, and here's a quote by some random person in some tiny newspaper who includes the Berenstain Bears on a list of books that will make your kid less nervous about his first day of school." I would like to find commentary or accolades about the books that approaches the same level of notability as the current sources, and that happens to be positive rather than negative, as opposed to putting something in just because it's positive.
I don't think it's casting the Berenstain Bears in an unduly negative light if, amidst all the talk here about how massively successful and beloved the franchise is, we recognize that some people don't like it. Theoldsparkle (talk) 16:10, 16 December 2011 (UTC)
replies: text: I've been on a wikibreak for the last few months and am just now seeing the above. The Petri piece from the Washington Post was already quoted in the article. The Guardian obituary was not; there's not much there, but if someone wanted to add a sentence from that obituary to the article, I'd probably be fine with that. Another editor has just revised the article to add mention of awards the books have won and make it a bit more balanced, so that may assuage some concerns. Theoldsparkle (talk) 15:49, 17 January 2014 (UTC)
thread_title:  For the record... 

message: I feel this article has a huge hole in it.  How did Stan and Jan divide their tasks, and collaborate?  Was one the illustrator, one the writer?  How did they develop storylines together?  Perhaps Mike knows and can shed some light.  I can't find the info in any of the related Wiki articles.  Personally, I think a good Encyclopedia should dig into this.  Let's not get too wrought up with the criticism, which most people don't care about.  Let's tell the story here.  Tx  Billyshiverstick (talk) 01:07, 8 June 2012 (UTC)
thread_title:  Missing Wiki Ingredient 

message: Mike Berenstain 1951– (at LCCatalog) and editors continue the series.
See Talk:List of Berenstain Bears books#Recent, forthcoming, and future? 
--P64 (talk) 21:57, 2 July 2013 (UTC)
thread_title:  Continuation by Mike Berenstain 

message: This section has an appearance of being biased against the series. It's possible this is unintentional, but the combination of the opening sentence of the section calling the books "syrupy", "unsatisfying", etc., the statement that "The Berenstain Bears series has been called" all these negative things, without balancing it with praise the series has garnered seems to lend undue weight to the negative criticism. I believe that this can easily be fixed by writing a new opening sentence acknowledging that the series has received both praise and criticism. A further refinement would be to separate the praise and criticism into subsections. Generally praise is presented first, and criticism next. Also, the section should be called "reception", not "opinions" in keeping with MOS. Mmyers1976 (talk) 19:51, 16 January 2014 (UTC)
replies: text: I went ahead and made the changes I suggested above, with the exception of the order of Praise and Criticism. I kept criticism before praise for purposes of clarity. Placing the criticism section containing the Krauthammer condemnation first allows the reader of the article to understand what the Washington Post's Petri is talking about when she says Krauthammer "got it wrong." Mmyers1976 (talk) 20:29, 16 January 2014 (UTC)
replies: text: I don't know if you read the section above titled "For the record..." (which I should have given a more descriptive title, but at the time I was just tired of feeling like a Berenstain-hating ogre every time someone deleted the criticisms and I put them back in). In a nutshell, when I wrote the criticism section, I tried to be as balanced as possible but I had a very hard time finding notable praise of the books in reliable sources. Your revised version doesn't really add any "notable praise of the books in reliable sources"; it adds a promotional page from the books' publisher. That being said, I'm willing to take Scholastic's word for it that the books really have won those awards, and I agree with mentioning those awards in the article. So I'm fine with accepting your edits. Theoldsparkle (talk) 15:44, 17 January 2014 (UTC)
replies: text: No, sorry, I didn't see that section of the Talk page. I did see the "Controversy and Criticism" section at the top, and it seemed a bit outdated so I just started my own section, probably should have scanned further. I totally understand, don't think you were hating on the Berenstain Bears, the criticisms are out there, they should be included, and like you I haven't found a tremendous amount of praising sources that are at the same level as the critical ones. Hopefully this little bit of restructuring and a balanced introductory sentence will soften the blow for the Bear lovers and they won't feel the need to be defensive and delete the criticism. I also added some more citations on the awards the Berenstains have recieved so no one has to take Scholastic's word for anything. Happy Friday! Mmyers1976 (talk) 16:10, 17 January 2014 (UTC)
thread_title:  "Opinions" section 

message: I put in a request for an editnotice for this article. For those unfamiliar with editnotices (as I was until today), an editnotice is only displayed when someone clicks on the "edit" tab, and informs them of a common incorrect edit before they make it. This will of course not deter the determined vandals and conspiracy theorists, but should reduce the number of good-faith editors who think they are correcting a misspelling. If you are interested in giving input on the exact wording of the editnotice, you may do so here: Template talk:Editnotices/Page/Berenstain Bears Mmyers1976 (talk) 16:47, 31 May 2016 (UTC)
replies: text: Update: Editnotice request has been approved and editnotice is now activated to be seen by anyone attempting to edit the article. Mmyers1976 (talk) 18:47, 31 May 2016 (UTC)
thread_title:  Editnotice request created 

message: Spelling 
It "was" Berenstein Bears. I took survey of it. I used to own the whole child's hard-back collection of the Berenstein Bears and it was one of my favorites growing up. My parents know they didn't misinterpret the title and all of my neighbors know as well. Even the young mother I gave the series to, knows it wasn't Berenstain....how do you get "stein" from "STAIN" ???? You guys might not want to admit it, however, I also remember vividly, "mirror mirror on the wall, who's the farest of them all." I used to quote Disney movies as a child..it was my thing.  Now it's "Magic mirror on the wall..." also Forrest Gump! "mamma always told me life is like a box of chocolates, you never know what youre gonna get."...now it's "Life WAS like a box of chocolates"...that doesn't even make sense!!!!!????????
It could just be a huge hoax on America, a screwy joke by FOX or MGM or Disney... but you gotta admit it's different.— Preceding unsigned comment added by 184.96.138.169  (talk • contribs) 11:23, June 12, 2016‎
:This talk page is for discussing improvements to the associated article, not for discussion about some global conspiracy between three large corporations using um, I guess it's MAGIC to make subtle changes to the history of the world as the world's most expensive, extensive and pointless practical joke. - SummerPhDv2.0 18:00, 12 June 2016 (UTC)
thread_title:  Off topic chat 

message: I see that this page has been placed in categories like "novels adapted into plays" and "novels adapted into video games". This article is about the Berenstain Bears franchise, which includes all the iterations. These categories are misleading, they should be appended to the individual works within the franchise, not to the franchise itself. Mmyers1976 (talk) 15:39, 19 August 2016 (UTC)
thread_title:  Categories 

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thread_title:  External links modified 

message: Hello,
Here's my possibility question: What would you think Universal Parks & Resorts would license Berenstain Bears and use it to appear at their parks, as Universal's own attractions based on the series, in the future?
commented by Wiki-Ikiw (talk), February 21, 2017, 8:49 pm  —Preceding undated comment added 01:49, 22 February 2017 (UTC)
replies: text: This article talk page is for discussing improvements to the article, not for general discussion of the article's topic. - SummerPhDv2.0 16:48, 22 February 2017 (UTC)
thread_title:  Possibility question: Will Berenstain Bears comes to Universal theme parks? 

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thread_title:  External links modified 

message: I'd make the change myself if the article weren't semi-protected, but could we correct the Mandela effect link to False_memory#Commonly_held_false_memories? I'm sure the link worked in the past, but it doesn't now.2A02:C7D:8A3D:DF00:B86A:4D6A:A9D6:8661 (talk) 07:47, 31 March 2018 (UTC)
replies: text: --Auric talk 15:54, 31 March 2018 (UTC)
thread_title:  Hyperlink correction 

message: "Antismoking" is spelled exactly like this, without any hyphens or spaces. This is just like antibacterial, antibiotic, anticommunist, anticrime, antidote, antifascist, antigovernment, antimatter, antimonarchy, antimissile, antiparticle, antiradar, antiradiation, antiscientific, antisocial, antistatic, antisubmarine, antitank, antitax, antiviolence, antiviral, and antiwar. These words do not have or need any hyphens. To include them is simply antiscientific.
This is in contrast with anti-American, anti-British, anti-Catholic, anti-Japanese, anti-Nazi, anti-Soviet, and anti-State, where proper nouns and adjectives are involved.24.121.195.165 (talk) 20:29, 15 June 2018 (UTC)
thread_title:  Antismoking  

message: There is a possibly misleading statement in this article--that during World War II Stan Berenstain "worked for the Army as a medical illustrator". This is ambiguous and could be taken to mean he was not actually in the Army but was a civilian contractor. Many sources make it clear that Stan Berenstain was drafted and actually served in the US Army for three years during the war. He was assigned to a medical unit at Camp Atterbury, Indiana where, because of his art training, he worked as a medical illustrator. Source: http://www.indianamilitary.org/Camp%20Atterbury/SpecialPeople/Berenstain/Berenstain.htm
This may seem like a fine distinction. But out of respect for all military veterans, especially those who served during wartime, this is something that deserves to be clarified. 
BerenstaincommentatorBerenstaincommentator (talk) 15:43, 9 November 2020 (UTC)
thread_title:  Stan Berenstain Army Service 

message: Description:
Link 91 is broken or outdated.
There is also a typo from the quote inside link 91, as well as a misattribution that should be removed.
Changes:
Change link 91 from:
http://news.nationalpost.com/arts/its-berenstain-like-coffee-stain-or-jello-stain-one-berenstain-bears-author-rejects-parallel-universe-theory
To:
https://nationalpost.com/entertainment/its-berenstain-like-coffee-stain-or-jello-stain-one-berenstain-bears-author-rejects-parallel-universe-theory
Change dependant text in 'Name Confusion' from:
'According to Mike Berenstain, confusion over the name has existed since his father's childhood, when a teacher told him there was no such name as "Berenstain" and the correct spelling was "Bernstein," adding that she didn't approve of people who "changed their names."'
To:
'According to Mike Berenstain, confusion over the name has existed since his father's childhood, when a teacher told him there was no such name as "Berenstain" and the correct spelling was "Berenstein."' Volume-county (talk) 16:16, 20 February 2023 (UTC)
replies: text: GiovanniSidwell (talk) 06:05, 26 February 2023 (UTC)
thread_title:  Semi-protected edit request on 20 February 2023