When thinking back to childhood books and the stories they wrapped us in, there are plenty of people who would be hard-pressed not to be familiar with the Berenstain Bears. This beloved family of grizzlies could practically fill an entire library self with detailed stories that speak of morals and safety. The characters are instantly recognizable and the art style is detailed and colorful. This is a series that certainly has its place amongst any youngsters collection and will delight young and old alike.
When I first started researching The Bears I pulled out a stack of fifteen or so books. Every cover snapped back to my memory and, while the actual stories took a bit more jogging, the adventures the family goes has made for some delightful reminiscing.
I was surprised to dig a bit deeper into its lineage and discovered that there are well over 300 stories to date, spanning from the first published book “The Big Honey Hunt” in 1962 all the way up to the present day. The franchise has even branched out into two television series in the late ’70s and then again in the early 2000s. They diversified again by breaking into the world of video games with 19 different titles, mostly appearing on home computers with a few forays into game counsels like the Sega Genesis and Game Boy Color.
Our favorite family of Grizzlies is the brainchild of human artists Jan and Stan Berenstain. Initially, Stan and Jan’s cartoonish exploits produced illustrated books of a very different nature than the family-friendly bears with such titles as “Marital Blitz”, “How To Teach Your Children About Sex Without Making A Complete Fool of Yourself” and “Have A Baby, My Wife Just Had A Cigar!”
They decided to transition to more kid-friendly tomes and in 1962 the first book in The Berenstain Bears series was released. It’s interesting to note that the art style changed and rereleases were made of the initial books, so be sure to keep an eye out if you’re a collector for the original installments.
Aside from the unique and highly recognizable last name, the family is simply known as Mama, Papa, Brother and Sister throughout the series. Other characters take on bear-like labels such as “Grizzle Bob” and “Mrs. Grizzle.” When bear puns run out you’ll also run across “Teacher Bob” or “Cousin Freddie.”
Each tale typically addresses a learning experience for Brother or Sister. Simple problem/solution-based plots are fleshed out in detail and the illustrations are varied and match the tones quite well. Conflicts are met with sage parental advice and happy endings abound.
Parents looking for a rapid bedtime transition should be aware that The Berenstain Bears assemblage is not a particularly quick read! Individually, each adventure typically follows a manuscript stretching past a thousand words. As such toddlers and older children will likely be drawn more to the engrossing stories rather than youngsters more accustomed to several words per page board books.
These books are simple paperback assemblies of roughly 20-30 pages and might not take to the rougher handling newborns and toddlers might be tempted to show them. That being said, our collection of approximately 35-year-old books are still holding together quite nicely, despite some folds, old stickers and a little color distortion here and there.
The Berenstain Bears are timeless classics that are rich in history. With tons of stories to choose from it’s easy to stock your library with tales for your children. This anthology collection has a nice variety of the classic stories, or if you prefer individual books this set has a bunch. You can go for broke and try to collect them all! Regardless of the direction you go towards they are sure to be treasured by your youngsters and will be remembered and loved for years to come!
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