Magick1's Full Review: Stan Berenstain et al - The Berenstain Bears And t...
Oh the beauty of the television bringing entertainment, news and fun things into our homes. The television is always a source of debate in families. Whether it is what program to watch (cartoons, no news, no cartoons) or watching too much of any show and becoming bumps on a log in front of the screen for hours on end, there is always an argument for television being a bad influence. This book brings up yet another reason television viewing can be a bad, bad thing – commercials.
The “you should see this, I have to have this, I want this” feeling that washes over us when we see something on the TV that looked perfect and did everything wonderfully. Whether it is a new tool or a fun art project or even breakfast cereal or toys. Commercials always draw somebody in with their flashy colors, loud sounds and cooler than cool looking items that make you need those items. The commercial industry makes people millions of dollars in sales by making things look excellent on TV and making us want everything that we see on the screen!
The Story
Well, the Berenstain Bears tackle one of these situations in this book. The little bear cubs watch a small bit of TV before settling in each day after school on their homework. Who doesn’t need to decompress a little when they first get home, right? Well, when the settle in on a TV show that is geared for them, they of course see a tremendous amount of things advertised that draws their attention and makes them want the items they see. No matter what, they always find something that sounds terrific and something they want to bring home from the store the next time they go shopping.
They advise mama bear that they must have the Rabid Rabbits or the Wacky Wart Hog or the Super Cereal advertised as being extra super-special by Happy Hamster! They told mama they had to have it, but they still hadn’t finished the last “extra super-special cereal” that the other character told them they needed from last week.
Mama was fed up with the way the bear cubs were constantly asking for the items they saw on the TV, but she broke down one more time and purchased the latest, greatest cereal that they just had to have. She pitched the remainder of the cereal that was still partially full. Mama, at that point, decided that she was going to pull the plug on the TV. She thought about the favorite shows that she and papa bear loved to watch and realized that the cubs would see the TV shows at their friends houses. But, she knew something had to be done!
Before actually doing anything, though, she talked to papa bear. He agreed that they all get drawn in by the advertisements. He saw mama bear watering her house plants with her super watering can from that garden show mama watches each week. Papa bear talked to the cubs, explained that commercials try hard to sell you things you just don’t need and they exaggerate a little bit to get you to buy their products. He asked the cubs to be smart shoppers, realize that you don’t need everything you see and that you need to pick and choose and be smart about what they buy so you don’t wind up with tons of things you just don’t need. They agreed and said they understood completely.
Well, the cubs were back asking for everything they saw on the TV that day, it seemed. Mama and papa bear put together an idea. For all of the items the cubs wanted, they were going to buy them everything. But, there was a catch. The cubs would have to keep their mouths shut, and they could not ask for another thing until every last bite of the latest cereal fad was eaten, the toys they wanted were played with for an entire month and the junk food they wanted was all eaten.
That sounded perfect to the bear cubs. Until, the first round of the commercial toys, cereal and junk food came into the house! They did not like the cereal very well, but they kept their promise. The toys they got were not very fun to play with and the dolls sister bear got did not do as they said in the commercials. The junk food they selected was terrible too. Nothing seems to be like they said it would be on the commercials. But, they kept their promise.
Mama and papa’s plan worked out excellently. The cubs did not get so excited about the commercials anymore and everyone in the family learned a valuable lesson! This was an excellent way to resolve the issue at hand! The cubs got what they wanted, realized it was not everything it was supposed to be and lesson learned in the process!
Overall Impressions
The book deals with a very important issue. Commercials make a lot of money for manufacturers. Children, mostly, would not know something existed unless they saw someone playing with it, or saw it on the TV. We mute the TV if we are watching it with our daughter and point out that these are from companies that want you to like what they are selling and they are trying to get you to buy their stuff. We tell her that all of the time. Now, she talks about commercials as just being a way to get you to buy their stuff, and really has not asked for anything on the commercials.
When we read this book, it only reinforces the things we say when we see the TV commercials. She sees the way the bear cubs wanted everything and everything kind of stunk, one way or another. And, she sees that mama and papa bear have items that they either want or think they want. The cubs remind papa that an item he wants on the TV show might be exaggerated and it makes him rethink his desire for that item and she realizes that she will need to help remind us sometimes there are things we just don’t need because they are not all that they are made out to be.
All in all, I think it has helped instill in her that commercials are really cool ways to sell products but the items aren’t necessarily the best. She feels ready to tell us anytime that something is cool but it’s just a commercial. We’ll hopefully be able to keep it this way for a while!
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