The Berenstain Bears’ 60th Anniversary

“The Big Honey Hunt” by Stan and Jan Berenstain was published in 1962 by Random House and edited by Dr. Seuss (Theodore Geisel). It was the first in the long-running Berenstain Bears series and it introduced a family of bears: Papa Bear, Mama Bear, and Brother Bear (then called Small Bear ... Sister Bear came later). The family of bears became fabulously popular.
An article in the Dec. 11, 1983, edition of the Intelligencer was subtitled “Bear’s Latest Adventure is Into Marketplace.” It contained several paragraphs of Berenstain Bears licensed products including clothing, bedding, needlework, dinnerware, tote bags, clocks, greeting cards, and even a promotion for children’s vaccinations.
By December 1994, stories about the Bears had been published on the printed page, celluloid filmstrip, magnetic recording tape television broadcast, and CD-ROM. Today the series has grown to over 300 titles, which are available in all modern media formats.

Longtime residents of Solebury Township, Stan and Jan Berenstain created the famous bears when their two sons, Michael (born 1951) and Leo (born 1948), were growing up. The boys, and later the couple’s four grandchildren, provided a model for the bear cubs’ antics and life experiences. Following Stan’s death in 2005 and Jan’s death in 2012, Mike and Leo Berenstain carried on the business of the Berenstain Bears.
Today Mike continues to write and illustrate Berenstain Bears books on all sorts of subjects. Over the past 60 years, these classic children’s books have sold approximately 260 million copies worldwide and have been translated into 23 languages.
doylestownhistorical.org

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