The Berenstain Bears and the Papa's Day Surprise by Stan Berenstain and Jan BerenstainMy rating: ★★★☆☆
And now for something completely different: a Berenstain Bears book without a terrible moral!
Papa Bear is a product of... a less emotionally enlightened upbringing, let's call it. He's clearly one of the many men who suffer from the belief that there's something inherently unmasculine about having any feelings whatsoever. So while he thinks mother's day is a great idea, his ingrained sexism leads him to insist that the idea of a day dedicated to celebrating fathers' familial contributions is ridiculous and purely commercial.
Of course, he ends up succumbing to his human (er, bear?) nature and, you know, having those little things we like to call "feelings" and winds up disappointed that his family so easily complied with his anti-Father's Day spiel. So when Brother and Sister Bear, along with their neighbors, put together a Father's Day celebrating at a local restaurant and surprise Papa Bear, he's thrilled.
It's a cute little story, and I always love to see Berenstain Bears books in which one of the parents learns a lesson.
