The Bike Lesson

I have two sons, one five and a half and the other two and a half years old, and they LOVE this story. Almost every few weeks, I have to journey back to the library and check it out as it's one of their favorite bedtime stories. Granted, it gets them a little wound up because they love to laugh at seeing Papa Bear take all his silly tumbles and pratfalls, but they listen and look at every page as I read it. My youngest calls it the "Oooooh, daddy!" book because he loves to shout that out every time Papa Bear falls off, catapults over, or submerges on the bike. Needless to say, its a big hit in our house. :)

So, I finally had enough and decided "They like it that much, I'm just gonna buy the darn thing!" I just got it in from Amazon and everyone in the house (my wife included), was totally disappointed. There must have been a recent "updated" reprint, because the copy that Amazon is selling is lacking in comparison to the original. For starters, it does not have the classic cover from 1964 as the item page shows above. Instead, if you want to see what you'll get if you buy this, choose the "Kindle Edition" to see the new cover. Also, the colors in the book are either completely different or totally washed out. It's as if someone forgot to load the 'Red' into the printing press and the 'Green' was on its way out. For example...

Rocks which were chocolate brown in '64 are now stone grey.
The bears which were a deep tan in '64 are now a pale beige/creamy, sickly yellow
And in this version the greens are all desaturated and washed out
etc. etc. etc.

If you want to get a copy of this fantastic book that still retains the vibrant richness and heart as Stan and Jan originally made it, then I suggest that you try to find it in a store in person, or via a site such as eBay, where you can see what you're actually going to be getting.

Again, the story is beautiful and fun and I can't recommend it enough to kids and parents alike; but this current edition is literally a poor copy of what a great experience this book is to enjoy. And no amount of silly voices while reading it can compensate for bland colors and washed-out pages. ;)

Great book for beginning readers. All 3 of my children loved this. My second grader read it for school. Easy reading and easy to follow.

"The Bike Lesson" is one of my favorite Berenstain Bears stories from my childhood. Not to say that some of the more modern stories from the 1980s to the present aren't good. They are, but the stories that were written & illustrated from the 1960s and 1970s were (are still are) the best & funniest. Always like the morals & life lessons in these books. My family and I still laugh at their antics (especially with Papa Bear). LOL.

This book is one of the most humorous books I've read by the Berenstains. A father bear brings home a brand-new bike for his son Small Bear, but before Small Bear is allowed to ride it, Father Bear has to show him how. "First come the lessons, then the fun. How to get on is lesson one." Of course Father Bear promptly falls off the bike, and covers up by saying "That is what you should not do. So let that be a lesson to you."
This lesson sets the pattern that the other six lessons follow. Each lesson ends with Father Bear in some sort of trouble, which Small Bear always manages to get him out of. Of course, when Father Bear actually lets Small Bear ride the bike, he does so perfectly.
I believe these characters are a primitive form of the now well-known Berenstain Bears. Father Bear and Mother Bear are certainly wearing their outfits, and the tree house looks pretty much the same. The pictures themselves are very cute, bold and colorful. (Mama Bear's expressions are great.) The words flow well and rhyme, which adds a certain charm to the book. In short, I think it is a great book.
Loggie-log-log-log

Another stupid old Berenstain Bears book where Papa tries to teach Small Bear how to ride a bike and keeps not listening to his own advice and getting maimed and mangled in various ways, and Small Bear just thanks him for showing him what not to do. Small Bear gets really impatient waiting for his dad to finish teaching him how to ride the bike so he can actually ride the bike.

There's no actual lesson. It's not actually teaching things that you would be worried about if you were really riding a bike. He's not really teaching how to do things like stop and start.

The best part: when they're running from the farmer who owns the cow and the chickens, the farmer is a wolf.

Message: Be careful when you ride bikes.

For more children's book reviews, see my website at drttmk dot com.

My mother got me this book way back when and I remember spending many happy hours reading it. So now that I'm a mom, I paid it forward and got my own daughter this book.

The first time we read it together, I started giggling not just because I remembered the story but also because it was genuinely funny! A true treat for the young and the old! I'm happy I found this book again and can share it with my family....this is a real keeper!

This book left me laughing the first time I read it to my kids. Enjoyed it so much, we checked out similar ones with the same theme. Teaches good morals like humility versus proud, being teachable and rules are for our safety. Another book about Scouting. Above all, I believe it's great because it illustrates how we can be grateful that our parents are not perfect because they are teaching us what not to do.

My 4 year old loves this book and kept asking for us to read it to him. He has heard it so much that he now has it memorized and "reads" it to himself! I would highly recommend this book.

A timeless Berenstein Bears book always induces a laugh. Your child will never Tire of the story. A great addition to your library.

Great product