I sell children's books for a living, and read almost nothing but. The first does not necessarily cause the second, as books for children and teens are better than anything in the world.
I am amused by the number of reviewers calling Maudie out for being spoiled and bratty. I actually liked the way Bear dealt with most of the situations. Would I have done all that cooking? No. But walking away when a child is still mad and wants time to themselves to calm down? Absolutely. Taking a long time to get out of the house? When doesn't this happen? Maybe I liked it because Maudie reminds me of Molly, who I indulge when I can time-wise because isn't so much of childhood sped up now? It's easy to get frustrated when a child wants to take their own time doing something; in a lot of situations, we all might be a lot better off if we were more like Bear.