The Berenstain Bears Get the Gimmies

Stan and Jan Berenstain's The Berenstain Bears Get the Gimmies is a funny, very recognisable story for 5 year olds about two cubs who want EVERYTHING they see.

What happens

Brother and Sister Bear have caught the gimmies. At the supermarket checkout it's sweets. Outside it's a new Bucking Frog ride. In the car park it's little rubber cats that stick their tongues out and squeak.

And every time, there's a fuss. A really big, jumping-up-and-down fuss. Sister gets so worked up she falls over backwards and kicks her legs in the air.

Papa Bear gives in, then gives in again, then goes home absolutely furious. (The rubber cats squeak all the way home, which doesn't help.)

What's clever is that Mama doesn't just blame the cubs. Over a calm cup of tea, she wonders out loud whether it's partly their own fault for giving in every time. Papa has to agree she might have a point!

Then Gramps and Gran arrive, and the cubs greet them with "Whaja-bringme?". That's the last straw. But while the cubs are sent to their room, Gramps lets slip a family secret. It turns out Papa was quite a gimmie-cub himself.

Gran explains the plan they used on him. Before you go to the shop, you choose one treat. Just one. And if you get the gimmies, you go home with nothing.

Is there a parent anywhere who hasn't lived through a supermarket checkout like this one? It's a gentle way to talk about wanting things without anyone feeling told off. The cubs aren't naughty so much as over-excited, and the grown-ups get things wrong too.

It's quite a long story for this age, so it's better as a snuggled-up read-aloud than a first read alone. The Bear family voices are great fun to do, especially Papa's big roar.

What to read next

If your little one enjoys this, there's more family trouble in The Berenstain Bears Forget Their Manners. Mama draws up a politeness plan, and the cubs come up with a cheeky plan of their own to get round it.