BrownstripetheBear

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Activities You Can Do at Home

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• Brownstripe envied the other animals in the forest. You might talk with your children about feelings of envy and jealousy, and share your own life experiences with them. Perhaps, when you were a child, you wanted to be like someone else? Do your children sometimes envy others? This is an opportunity to reinforce your children’s unique qualities and to encourage them to remain true to themselves.

• You might talk together about the saying, “Who is rich? One who is happy with his lot.” What does it mean for you? Is everyone in your family happy with what he or she has? What do we, as a family, feel happy about?

• People often say: “May all your wishes come true.” When Brownstripe gives voice to his wish, his wish is realized! You could ask your children if they, too, have wishes, or if they ever wished for something that came true. While the fulfillment of some wishes is not within our power, we can fulfill others. You can play a game together: each one takes a turn and makes a wish out loud.  Be sure to focus on wishes that can be fulfilled (for example:” I wish I had a comfortable pillow under my head,” or “I wish I could curl up under a cozy blanket”). It’s natural to want things, and it also feels good to make someone else’s wish come true!

• You can put on a skit based on the story. Create a tail, antlers, wings and fins using fabric and simple props. Your children can pretend to beBrownstripe, who envies the other animals; you, the parents, can play the parts of the other animals. At the end of the show, you can have a great time playing the mother bear who hears and sees Brownstripe through his costumes. Be sure to share a great big “bear hug” as a finale!

• Brownstripe wants to have body parts that aren’t suitable for a bear. Each of our body parts has an important function. Together with your children, you could examine the illustrations throughout the book. Do your children know what the purpose of a lion’s tail is? Why do deer have antlers, and fish have fins? You can also go over our own human body parts and discuss the function of each.

• The book “Brownstripe” is one of many children’s books that deal with the desire to be like someone else – for example, “The Fish that Didn’t Want to Be a Fish” by Paul Kor (in Hebrew), “The Mixed-Up Chameleon” by Eric Carle and “A Color of His