I’ve finally started checking books out from the local library for my four year old and our latest read has become an instant hit. My son is so utterly infatuated with The Berenstain Bears and The Spooky Old Tree that we just might have to buy ourselves a copy!

I’ve got to admit, I’m a pretty big fan of this book myself. Like most of the classic Berenstain Bears books, this story is memorable and infectiously fun. It’s one of the Bright and Early Books for Beginning Beginners which means the story is repetitive and simple – perfect for early readers.

The illustrations are spooky but fun with a happy ending at the end, so your kiddos should still be able to sleep at night, perfect for curling up in bed and hamming it up with your kids. I think it would be a great book to take on a camping trip and read by flashlight together. We’ve read it so many times since checking it out of the library a week ago that my son now has the story memorized and usually demands to read it “himself” at bedtime. We, of  course, don’t mind.

My four year old’s “review”: I like the “dain dain bears (read: Berenstain Bears) about it and it’s pretty and spooky – I like spooky stories!”

This book won the Buckeye Children’s Book Award for K-2 in 1982 and I can totally see why. I’d recommend it to anyone, especially fans of the Berenstain Bears series. I have a lot of fond memories of reading this series as a child and I really get a thrill out of sharing them with my own children today.

What was your favorite children’s book or series growing up? Have you had a chance to share this book or series with your own children?