Why we chose this book:

Since school was out today we decided to head to the library. I carefully picked out several books that Allen would enjoy. He will soon be 3 and enjoys having books read to him.

The Berenstain Bears Go to the Doctor was one of my choices. Allen will soon be going to his 3 year old check up at the doctor. So I thought this book would be helpful to prepare him for what to expect. The book is written and illustrated by Stan & Jan Berenstain.

The Plot:

The Berenstain Bears are a family of four bears: Papa, Mama, Brother and Sister. As the cubs are headed to bed Mama reminds them of their checkup with Dr. Grizzly the following day.

Sister Bear is afraid of going to the doctor and has questions for her parents. When Brother Bear thought about getting a shot he gets apprehensive.

The next day they head to the doctor. There were lots of cubs in the waiting area. They were there for many different reasons.

Dr. Grizzly did the checkup for Brother and Sister Bear. They both had gained weight and grown taller. She took their temperature and checked their throat, eyes, ears and nose.

Brother and Sister Bear had to have a Booster shot. It was over in no time and barely even hurt.

When Brother and Sister's exam was over Dr. Grizzly checked out Papa. He claims to never get sick, but had been sneezing all day. He had a fever, red throat and his nose was stuffy. When they get home the bears bring Papa his medicine that Dr. Grizzly gave him for his cold.

The Illustrations:

The pictures in this book are great. There are various scenes displayed in the book. It shows the cubs in their beds talking with Mama and Papa, the whole family leaves the house heading for the doctor and scenes along the way. There are various pictures that are inside the doctor's office, several in the waiting room and several more in the examination room. Each test the doctor does on the cub is shown in picture. You can expect to see trees, grass, a bridge with ducks swimming underneath and other Cubs.

What We Thought:

Both of my sons, Aaron and Allen, listened as I read the book. Aaron is 9 and he was a little old for the book, but he enjoyed listening to it anyway.

Allen is almost 3 and has a doctors checkup in a few weeks so he really listened. We looked at each of the pictures carefully and I told him that in a few weeks he would be having this stuff done. He pointed to his heart when he saw the doctor listening with her stethoscope. I think that will help him to be prepared for when it is his turn.

Allen seemed very interested, but he does enjoy most books. As long as the book isn't too long he will gladly sit and listen for you to read it to him. He always likes to look at the pictures and for this book it was no different.

I especially liked how the book explains getting a shot. I think getting a shot is the hardest part for a child. Sister asks "Why do we have to have shots when we're not even sick?" The doctor says "That's a very good question". She goes on to explain, "You see, there are some kinds of medicine that you take after you get sick, and those are very useful. But this kind of shot is a special medicine that keeps you from getting sick". I thought that was a great way of explaining it in a very childlike way that would be easy to understand.

I felt the book was complete and I would not add anything to it. I think they fully discussed going to the doctor for a checkup and explained what you can expect while you are there.

I recommend this book for anyone that needs a little help explaining a doctor's visit to a child. I think it would be good for any child aged 2-6. It is quick to read and would also be great for a child that is just starting to read.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Help needy families by donating a toy for Christmas

Join "Write You Butt Off W/O"

For more info go to:

http://www.epinions.com/user-maggsmomm

Thanks to maggsmomm for hosting this great write-off to help others!!!

This is a Write Your Butt Off W/O Review

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~



Recommended: Yes