The Berenstain Bears and the Messy Room

Stan and Jan Berenstain's The Berenstain Bears and the Messy Room is a very short picture book for 5 year olds about two cubs whose bedroom is a total disaster.

What happens

From the outside, the Bears' tree house is spotless. The tulips sparkle, the piano's dusted and even the basement is tidy.

Except for one room. Brother and Sister's. It's a helter-skelter, wall-to-wall MESS!

There's a half-finished jigsaw gathering dust in one corner and Brother's dinosaur models covered in cobwebs in another. Sister's cuddly toys are everywhere. As for the big cupboard, you'd better be careful how you open it!

The cubs aren't messy on purpose. The trouble is that whenever it's time to tidy up, they argue about whose turn it is. So Mama ends up doing it herself.

Until the day she's had enough. She marches in with a big box and starts throwing out the "junk". Sister's Teddy! Brother's bird's nest collection! Cue lots of screaming.

That's when Papa calls a family meeting. His idea is boxes for everything, a pegboard (that one's Sister's suggestion) and a proper toy box he makes in his workshop. Mama adds a few rules.

It's lovely how it all gets sorted out together, as a family. Nobody's the baddie, not even Mama when she loses her temper. And the cubs find that a tidy room is actually a nicer place to be.

Who hasn't had a battle over a messy bedroom? If you've got two children sharing a room, you'll probably recognise every word of the arguing ("Pleistocene schmeistocene!").

It's a good one to read together before a big tidy-up. It might even get them planning what they'd put in their own labelled boxes.

What to read next

If this one works in your house, try The Berenstain Bears Forget Their Manners next. This time Mama draws up a Politeness Plan with a chore for every rude thing, and it's Papa who finds it hardest to stick to.