Story Time with Sara: Berenstain Bears Grow-It! by Stan & Jan Berenstain

Berenstain Bears Grow-It!
written by Stan & Jan Berenstain
published by Random House Books for Young Readers, 1996

find it here: (affiliate links) Barnes & Noble, Amazon, Book Depository, Goodreads

Did I enjoy this book: Yes! Now this is what I call a Berenstain Bears book! We picked this book up from the Library in honor of Earth Day (April 22nd), and we were NOT disappointed!!

This is the first book from the “Berenstain Bears First Time DO-IT Books” that I have read, and I loved it! There was a normal story about how the cubs had plans to play with their friends but instead had to help Mama get supplies and plant the garden. However, the interesting part was that at the bottom of each page, Professor Actual Factual (of Bear Country) shares some of the facts and science behind what Mama and the cubs were doing with the plants on those pages.

Now, I wasn’t sure the best way to read through this book. I started by trying to read the story two pages at a time and then read the Actual Factual facts at the bottom of each set of pages before going on to the next pages. This made the story VERY choppy, and considering how much trouble I was having remembering where we were in the story, I would guess my son was having issues as well. It worked out much better the second time when we read the whole story straight through and then went back and read all the bits from Prof. Actual Factual.

We learned lots of really awesome things like how to plant seeds that will turn into plants, how seeds get distributed and planted in nature, what an ecosystem is, and many reasons why plants are so important to us. My little reader was enthralled (and so was I)!

The story was engaging as always, and we learned that we must honor the promises we make even if means we have to put off having fun. However, the cubs also showed the reader that hard work can be fun when you get to enjoy the fruits of your labor . . . (quite literally in this case). By the time we reached the end of this book, my son was begging me to let him plant his own seeds to make something grow, so I would say it was a success!

Would I recommend it: Yes, both my son and I enjoyed this book, and if you are a fan of Berenstain Bears, then I guarantee you will love it!

About the book – from Goodreads: Illustrated in full color. Inspired by their neighbor Farmer Ben, Brother and Sister decide–with Mama’s help–to plant seeds, cuttings, and tubers. The Do-It! section includes instructions for the propagation of numerous food plants in water and/or soil, plus some simple plant science.