Deep In Bear Country – A Berenstain Bearcast
Let's talk about every single Berenstain Bears book, shall we?
It’s Valentine’s Time, so you know what that means! Brian and Christy are back for their annual Valentine’s Day book coverage and we actually have a new book to talk about. It’s “The Berenstain Bears’ Extra Special Valentine” and it’s SHORT and WEIRD and SO ARE WE. Check it out!
Check out Brian’s podcast Center of Weirdness at predictocast.libsyn.com and check out Christy’s podcast Pizza Toast at withthewhatnow.wordpress.com!
This week I am joined by returning guest Becca Peter to discuss “The Berenstain Bears Stay Healthy!” It’s a brand new book and a very prescient book and a very strange book in so far as its setup is concerned. A musical about the topic? With no music? Because it’s a book? Sure! Why not?! Stay healthy! Give it a chance!
This week, the Bears go back into the attic to dig up some old treasures! It’s “The Berenstain Bears’ Show-and-Tell!”
Real talk: does God love you? Let’s find out! Let’s also learn a bit about Bear Country’s Musical Theater heritage; the gender division between theater and sports; and Ferdy Actual… he exists! Also, Mama won’t stop making the conversation all about God God GOD! God, Mama! It’s “The Berenstain Bears God Loves You!”
This week, I’m all by myself and thinkin’ of BEES! Spelling bees, that is! It’s “The Berenstain Bears and the Big Spelling Bee!”
It’s the first week of school here in Minneapolis and things are weird! So, I brought *my* school kid on the show to talk about “The Berenstain Bears Go Back To School” and marvel at a simpler time when everything wasn’t the worst. Enjoy it!
Join me for the final Family Time Book “The Berenstain Bears’ Back To School!” Not, “Back To School With The Berenstain Bears” and NOT “The Berenstain Bears GO Back To School.” Those are VERY DIFFERENT THINGS.
Megan Sunday, co-host of the Dune-tastic “Let’s Get Wierding” podcast, joins me this week to talk about SMOKING IN THE WOODS and PLAYING BASKETBALL IN THE WOODS and DO THE BULLIES LIVE IN THE WOODS? It’s “The Berenstain Bears: The Wrong Crowd!”
Hey! Mitzi’s back! And we’re talking about a guy who may be goofy and he may be goony but… but, he’s “The Goofy, Goony Guy.” That’s all.
My own child, Mitzi, joins me for the final episode of the year: a look at the original Cub Club version of “The Berenstain Bears and the Excuse Note!”
I’ve been alone so long! This week, I bring back two things that this show desperately needed: the Big Chapter Books and A GUEST! Yes, I am joined by author and screenwriter Mark Wheaton, the author of “Emily Eternal” and the Luis Chavez Mysteries. He’s here to help me pick apart a book about… filmmaking? The Hollywood machine? Cecil B. DeMille? It’s a mess; but a FUN mess!
This week, I’m all by myself and talking about Cub Clubs! Yes, it’s “The Berenstain Bears and the Wishing Star” and I don’t have a whole lot to say about it!
This week, I am joined by two delightful souls, Christy Admiraal and Brian Skinner, as we traverse the completely off-season topic of Valentines Day! Who is an appropriate suitor for Sister? What’s a Thousand Legger? A Hop Toad? Whither fistball. We talk it all!
This week, I’m playing with a FULL HOUSE or FULL BACKYARD as I’m joined by not one, not two, not three but FOUR GUESTS! Yes, Elana is back and she’s brought her niece, Miriam, and her aunt and uncle Meryl and Evan for a backyard conversation about excuses and notes and “The Berenstain Bears and the Excuse Note!”
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.
This week, I’m joined by Erin Ayers – one half of the Over the Table Top podcast – to discuss a tale of fraud and dinosaurs. It’s “The Berenstain Bears and the G-Rex Bones!” How far will Ralph go to secure a million dollars? Pretty far! Will he sell out his own personal values and ruin the reputation of a fine upstanding bear like Actual Factual? Sure! Will any of this plot make a lick of sense? Nope!
This week, I’m joined by the delightful Drew Stewart to rock out to “The Berenstain Bears Go Platinum!” It’s the gripping tale of Stan and Jan Berenstain really wanting to stick it to the music of today!
Helen LaStar, one of the hosts of Falling In Love Montage, joins me this week to peel back the layers of “The Berenstain Bears and Queenie’s Crazy Crush!” What happens when a young girl cub falls in love with a grown man and plots to trick him into coming over to her house when her parents are – you know what? I’m going to just leave that right where I found it. Just . . . just walk away from that one.
Ollie, my teen and co-host of It’s Del Toro Time! – A Guillermo del Toro Podcast, joins me this week to talk “The Berenstain Bears and the School Scandal Sheet!” In which we discuss the terrible things the cubs accuse a teacher of and also divide the cubs into their Hogwarts Houses. IT’s kind of a discussion that goes all over the place. Also, we talk about the importance of owning up to your terrible terrible mistakes how if you’re a cub, you face no consequences for those terrible terrible mistakes.
Welcome to the world of degraded audio! Please bear with this terrible sounding episode, as I flop around trying to talk about “The Giddy Grandma.” Things didn’t work out according to plan, but I think I get my point across.
Also, I have a Patreon page!
Meghan Griffin of Judging Book Covers and Fableulous Retellings joins me to talk dress codes, law enforcement and a Berenstain Bears book that gets way more political than we were anticipating!
What a weird book. Kerry Nelson from Random Sampling joins me to talk about the gross violation of trust that occurs at Bear Country School! Also, democracy in action? Maybe?
