Berenstain Bears and Too Much Vacation - Summer Read Aloud - Bedtime Stories for Kids Storytime
Berenstain Bears and Too Much Vacation, by Stan and Jan Berenstain, is an entertaining kid's book read aloud for preschool, kindergarten, and elementary school ages (and adults still young at heart).
Parents and teachers, join me here at The Children's Storytime Bookshelf for daily read alouds in the classroom, at bedtime, or anytime!
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Parents and teachers, join me here at The Children's Storytime Bookshelf for daily read alouds in the classroom, at bedtime, or anytime!
Follow The Children's Storytime Bookshelf for a classic children's library.
#kidsbooksreadaloud #readaloud #readaloudbooksforchildren
Transcript
00:00The
00:27Berenstain Bears and Too Much Vacation by Stan and Jan Berenstain
00:32Well, that's everything, said Mama Bear as she and Sister and Brother Bear held the car
00:40trunk lid so that Papa could tie it down.
00:47Not quite, said Papa, running back into the treehouse.
00:50We almost forgot the camera, he said when he reappeared.
00:55What good is a wonderful vacation without photographs to remember it by?
01:04Good thinking, Papa, said Brother.
01:06May I take some pictures when we get there?
01:09And how about me, Sister wanted to know.
01:12Of course you may, said Papa as they bundled into the car.
01:16We're all going to take pictures of the most wonderful vacation the Bear family has ever
01:22had.
01:23But for right now, everybody buckle up and we'll be on our way.
01:27Four safety belts clicked into place and they left their safe, comfortable treehouse and
01:33headed for the excitement and adventure of a vacation high up in the wilds of the Great
01:38Grizzly Mountains.
01:43It had been Papa's idea to take their vacation in the Great Grizzlies.
01:47It'll be a real wilderness experience.
01:50We'll live off the land.
01:52We're getting too soft here in the valley with all our supermarkets and other conveniences.
01:58When he saw the ad in the newspaper, there was no holding him back.
02:03It said, try a wilderness vacation, a lovely mountain cabin complete with a rowboat by
02:09beautiful Crystal Lake.
02:12Ah, said Papa, painting beautiful word pictures, to wake with the rising sun and catch our
02:18breakfast from a clear mountain lake, to bathe in its sparkling water, to snack on
02:26delicious wild berries as we tramp the mountain trails, to gaze at the beauty of a mountain
02:36sunset, then to sleep through the peace and quiet of a mountain night, far from the noise
02:42of traffic and neighbors barking dogs.
02:46It all sounded great to the cubs.
02:49What kind of fish will we catch, Papa? asked Brother.
02:52Trout, no doubt, he answered with supreme confidence.
02:56But Mama wasn't so sure he would catch anything.
03:00So when she packed, she took along some canned goods in case the trout weren't biting, and
03:05some books and games in case of a rainy day.
03:09I can almost taste that fresh-caught trout, said Brother as the road led ever higher into
03:14the mountain forest.
03:16And I can almost taste those yummy wild berries, said Sister.
03:24And don't forget my terrific wilderness stew, said Papa as he turned onto an even steeper
03:29road.
03:31But we didn't bring things for stew, objected Mama.
03:34All we brought are some canned goods.
03:37Of course we didn't, laughed Papa.
03:40I'm talking about my special live-off-the-land survival stew.
03:44It's my secret recipe.
03:46I make it from bark, leaves, and roots that I find in the woods.
03:51When will we get there? asked the cubs.
03:54Very soon.
03:55I can tell by the smell of that mountain air, said Papa, taking a deep breath.
04:04That's not mountain air, complained Brother, making a face.
04:08Skunk!
04:09Hmm, said Papa, wrinkling his nose.
04:12A good time to start taking those pictures, thought Mama.
04:16Pew! said Papa.
04:18Click, said the camera.
04:24There's the cabin, shouted Sister as they rounded a bend.
04:32And there it was indeed, a mountain cabin beside a lake, complete with a rowboat.
04:38Of course, it wasn't quite as they had pictured it from the ad.
04:41Crystal Lake looked more like a mud soup.
04:45The lovely mountain cabin looked more like a tumble-down shack.
04:49There was a rowboat, all right, but it was half sunk in the lake.
04:56But Papa wasn't the least bit discouraged.
04:59He was more excited than ever.
05:01It's perfect, he shouted.
05:04The most perfect live-off-the-land vacation spot I've ever seen.
05:09Mama wasn't so sure.
05:11She noticed that there were no wires leading into the cabin, which meant there was no electricity.
05:18That's the last thing we need, scoffed Papa.
05:22What you need on a live-off-the-land vacation is plenty of can-do spirit and lots of forest
05:27smarts, and I've got enough of those for all of us.
05:34He took a cooking pot and a folding chair from the car trunk.
05:37Here, he said, making a seat for Mama.
05:40This is a vacation.
05:42You relax while I gather the fixings for my fabulous wilderness stew.
05:47And you two tidy up the cabin, he called to the cubs as he headed into the forest with
05:52the cooking pot.
05:57But Mama didn't expect to do much relaxing on this vacation, and she wasn't surprised
06:03to find that the cabin was an even worse mess inside than it was outside.
06:08There was an ankle-deep carpet of twigs, branches, and dead leaves on the floor, and it was practically
06:14a museum of spiderwebs, cocoons, and mouse nests.
06:19Time for another picture, thought Mama.
06:21Scurry, scurry, scurry went the mice.
06:24Click went the camera.
06:28What's this? asked Sister as she cleaned leaves out of the sink.
06:33That's a hand pump for water, answered Mama.
06:37Just what I need.
06:38It was Papa back with the cooking pot full of strange-looking bark, leaves, and roots.
06:43A little water for my stew.
06:46He worked the handle.
06:47The pump gurgled and squeaked, and after a while began to squirt water.
06:52Rusty, brown water.
06:54But he wasn't discouraged.
06:56Just what I need for my stew, he said cheerfully.
07:00Ready-made gravy.
07:03He carried the pot outside where he had prepared a cooking fire.
07:07It was very exciting for the cubs, but Mama wasn't so sure.
07:12So she made a fire in the fireplace and warmed up a supper of canned beans and dried honeycomb.
07:22When Papa cried, stew time, the cubs ran out for a first taste.
07:27Mama followed with the camera.
07:29Here's to living off the land, said Papa, holding up a big spoon of the strange-looking
07:34stuff.
07:35Then he, Brother, and Sister each took a taste.
07:38Yuck, said Sister.
07:40Blech, said Brother.
07:42But chewy, said Papa.
07:44Click, said the camera.
07:51Papa Bear's supper of beans and honeycomb proved very tasty.
07:55Papa Bear stretched and yawned.
07:58Now, early to bed so I can get up with the sun and catch our breakfast.
08:04The sun did rise, and it was very beautiful.
08:08But Papa snored right through it.
08:10The frogs, crickets, and owls had made such a racket during the night that he hadn't
08:15fallen asleep until just before the rising sun lit up the sky.
08:22Papa began to get a little discouraged when he went out to catch breakfast.
08:27The boat sank as soon as he stepped into it, and all he caught was a gloppy mudsucker that
08:32made snuffling noises and stared.
08:35Snuffle, snuffle, glop, said the mudsucker.
08:38Click, said the camera.
08:44It was Papa's turn to snap the picture when Mama and the cubs tasted the wild berries.
08:49The thorns were something fierce, and the berries were so sour even the birds puckered.
08:57Later, there was a perfectly beautiful sunset, but the Bear family didn't get to see much
09:04of it.
09:05They were too busy swatting the swarms of hungry mountain mosquitoes that swooped in
09:10from the lake.
09:12Live off the land, you say, shouted Mama as they ran for the cabin.
09:17With all these thorns and mosquitoes, it's more like the land is living off us.
09:25It began to rain just as they reached the cabin, but the roof leaked badly, and pretty
09:31soon they had more leaks than they had pots and pans.
09:35They spent a miserable night.
09:37By morning, they were soaked to their fur, and there was a foot of water in the front
09:42stairwell.
09:43Don't worry, said Papa.
09:50The rain can't last forever, and just as soon as I sweep out this water.
09:56But instead of Papa sweeping the water, the water swept Papa out the door, down the muddy
10:02slope, and into the muddy, mucky lake.
10:06When Mama and the cubs reached him, he looked more like a mud ball than Papa Bear.
10:11Say, he said, looking up at them, I have a terrific idea.
10:16Let's go home.
10:19So the Bear family loaded the trunk, put the car top up, bundled into the car, and bumped
10:25and splashed down the mountain in the driving rain.
10:29The rain had stopped and the sun had come out by the time they reached the valley, and
10:33their treehouse had never looked so good to them as it did that day.
10:41The next day, Mama took the film to the camera store to be developed.
10:45When the pictures came back a few days later, the Bear family wrote titles on them.
10:50They began to chuckle as they passed the pictures around.
10:53The chuckles grew to roaring laughter, and soon they were laughing so hard they cried.
10:59Papa smells the mountain air.
11:02We are greeted upon our arrival.
11:05We taste Papa's wilderness stew.
11:08Papa catches our breakfast.
11:11Our first taste of wild mountain berries.
11:15Papa decides it's time to go home.
11:21And every so often, through the years, they take out those pictures and have an absolutely
11:27wonderful time enjoying the worst vacation the Bear family ever had.