Mrs. Bruin – Deep In Bear Country – A Berenstain Bearcast

Episode 476 – The Berenstain Bears: God Made You Special

Buckle up, Bear Country—this one’s a doozy. This week, we dive into The Berenstain Bears: God Made You Special, a book that on the surface has the best of intentions but stumbles hard into some serious pitfalls. What happens when a children’s book about faith and differences accidentally reinforces inspiration porn, infantilization, and outdated disability tropes? A very uncomfortable discussion.

Sources Referenced:
📖 Special Olympics Inclusive Language Guide
📖 Disability Rights UK on “Inspiration Porn”
📖 Ashley Shew’s Against Technoableism

Join the conversation! Drop your thoughts in the comments, share your own favorite (or least favorite) books about disability, and let’s talk about how we can create a more inclusive Bear Country.

Episode 470 – The Berenstain Bears and No Guns Allowed!

This week, I’m circling back to a book I skipped over for whatever reason and… wow, it’s a thoughtful piece of writing for kids. A surprisingly complex look at Culture of Violence Theory, it’s “The Berenstain Bears and No Guns Allowed!”

Episode 251 – The Berenstain Bears The Runamuck Dog Show!

DIBC-EP251

Hot Diggity Dog! Look who’s back! It’s the hosts of Hot Diggity Dog, Brian and Josh, and they’re here talk about “The Runamuck Dog Show!” It’s a book about dogs and cats and poop and… poop, actually. There’s a lot of poop. Don’t know what else to tell you.

Episode 183 – The Berenstain Bears and the Big Blooper!

This week, we’re bleepin’ and bloopin’ and cursing up a storm! It’s “The Berenstain Bears and the Big Blooper!” where Sister Bear cusses a swear!

Episode 181 – The Berenstain Bears and Baby Makes Five!

This week, I’m joined by Annette Gagliardi. Annette is an educator, poet and author who lives in the Twin Cities and was my teacher for several years in Early Childhood Family Education. I figured, heck, she knows her business when it comes to kids, so who better to walk us through “The Berenstain Bears and Baby Makes Five?” The book where we finally meet Honey. And then immediately forget about Honey.