The Berenstain Bears Pirate Adventure by Mike Berenstain is a solid example of a Berenstain Bears book. And since it is from 2016, it is also an example of one of the more modern Bears with Baby Honey in it. She is now old enough to run around and play with her older siblings, Brother and Sister Bear. And what they play is Pirates! However, the one part of the story that is not as traditional is the fact their Christian values or moral story is not here. Yet, if there is any moral it is “use your imagination” and to learn pirate speak. Or at least Sister should have as it would have helped her understand Brother as the the siblings take off on a summer adventure to sail the seas as pirates. The nice thing about the story is it is a nice read. There is no real moral, it is not preachy, it is a just a story about siblings. You learn a few pirate terms and just have fun. The savvy reader might pick up on a clue who the pirates that attacked them were, but that is about it.
The art is reminiscent of the original books, but completely modern. The colors are flashy and bright and bold. While they are not necessarily unpleasant, they are commercial illustrations. As mentioned above, this is classic Berenstain Bears. What you see is what you get.
The other nice thing is that at least they never mention scurvy. But it would have been appropriate as May 2, 2019 is International Scurvy Awareness Day. It is also appropriate that May 2 is also Brother and Sister Day, so to read a book about pirates and siblings on this day was most fortunate. I do not plan on sharing this book with my own sister, but it would be a lovely book to have siblings read together or be read to in a group.
