The Berenstain Bears and the Bear Detective

Stan and Jan Berenstain's The Berenstain Bears and the Bear Detective is a rhyming mystery for 5 year olds about a stolen prize pumpkin and a papa bear who is very sure he knows best.

What happens

Farmer Ben's pumpkin won first prize at the fair. Now it's gone! Papa Bear puffs himself up as Great Bear Detective Pop. He's got his old dog Snuff and he's going to find that thief.

The cubs have something better. They've got a Bear Detective Book, with lessons. Lesson One says look for tracks. Lesson Two says look for more clues.

Papa isn't interested in books. He's off! He follows a trail of carrots, peas and eggshells and pounces on a cow. He wrestles a scarecrow. He dives into a haystack and snaps his handcuffs on a hen.

Meanwhile the cubs are quietly finding the real clues. A wheelbarrow track. A pumpkin leaf. A blue first-prize ribbon. Pumpkin seeds all over a barn floor.

Isn't it lovely when the little ones get to be cleverer than the grown-up? That's the joke that runs all the way through, and small children will spot it long before Papa does. Every time he crashes in, you know it's going to be wrong.

It's written in short rhyming lines that bounce along, with lots of repeats. Papa keeps a list of everything he's "checked out" (a cow, three pigs in a pen, a scarecrow). The list gets longer and sillier each time, which is perfect for joining in.

It's a very short book and the whole case is solved in one sitting. It works well read aloud, and a child who's starting to read may like having a go at Papa's lines.

There's also a nice little idea tucked inside about slowing down, looking properly and using your nose. The ending is a cosy surprise (and involves pie).

What to read next

If they'd like the Bear Detectives and Snuff on another case, The Missing Dinosaur Bone has them racing round a museum against the clock before it opens at noon.