The Berenstain Bears are a fictional family of anthropomorphic bears created by Stan and Jan Berenstain in a series of very popular children's books. The popularity of the books subsequently spawned numerous child-friendly television shows and computer games. The family consists of Papa Bear, the woodworker father; Mama Bear, his homemaker wife; and their three children: Brother Bear, Sister Bear, and Honey Bear. Stories are set in Bear Country, a society composed entirely of bears. Story lines typically follow the Bear family as they deal with topics relevant to both children and parents. Each Bear's role in the family was well defined. Brother, as the older sibling, was controlling and protective of Sister and also more cautious in his manner. Sister, as the younger sibling, was more laid-back, energetic and free spirited. Mama typically was the source of wisdom and knowledge. Papa, while also being wise at times, was more bumbling and clumsy in his demeanor.

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Inspiration

The inspiration for the characters came when the Berenstains' sons, Leo and Mike, were learning to read, and their parents decided to try their hands at creating children's books themselves. This book became The Big Honey Hunt , which was published in 1962 by Dr. Seuss's Beginner Books imprint. ^[1]

Evolution of characters

The bear family in The Big Honey Hunt consisted of Mama Bear, Papa Bear, and son Small Bear (later Brother Bear). They began their own line of books about the bears in 1974 with The Berenstain Bears and the New Baby which added daughter Sister Bear to the family and changed Small Bear's name to Brother Bear. In 2000, baby sister Honey was introduced with The Berenstain Bears and Baby Makes Five, after having dealt with Mama Bear's pregnancy in the previous book The Birds, the Bees, and the Berenstain Bears . Between the two books, there was a contest for readers to name the baby.

Supporting characters

• Too-Tall Grizzly , the school bully. In "the berenstain bears talent show" too-tall wins to Hat tricks, jokes, and imitating famouse folks.
• Two-Ton Grizzly , Too-Tall's father who is a bit of a bully himself (but to a much lesser degree)
• Queenie McBear , Too-Tall's on-and-off girlfriend and friend of Brother and Sister. Although originally a bully to Sister, she is now friendly to all the cubs at school. She is also the most flirtatious of all the cubs.
• Fred Bear , Brother and Sister's cousin and friend, frequently known as Cousin Freddie. His mother and Mama Bear are sisters.
• Lizzy Bruin , One of Sister's best friends
• Bonnie Brown , Originally introduced in the Big Chapter Book series, she is a part-time model who attends Bear Country School and becomes friends with Brother and Sister and at times the love interest of Brother's and vice versa. A very caring and sweet cub.
• Raffish Ralph , a Bear Country crook, typically working as a con man, who also goes by the name Ralph Ripoff . Though he is scheming and underhanded, he has a somewhat cordial relationship with Papa, Brother, and Sister.
• Farmer Ben , local farmer, neighbor, and family friend.
• Mrs. Ben , Farmer Ben's wife
• Grizzly Gramps and Gran , Papa Bear's parents
• Mayor Honeypot , The mayor of Bear Country, known for numerous spoonerisms.
• Professor Actual Factual , The community intellectual, always pictured as slim and bespectacled. A good friend of Brother and Sister, he is also the purveyor and owner of the Bearsonian Institution, Bear Country's museum.
• Ferdy Factual ("Nerdy Ferdy"), nephew of Actual Factual and an unusually intelligent cub.
• Trudy Brunowitz , a similarly nerdy female cub and Ferdy's friend.
• Harry McGill , the first disabled cub in the series, making his debut in 1995 in the Big Chapter Book Series. He is smart and is good friends with Ferdy. After standing up to Too-Tall, he eventually became his chess buddy.
• Bertha Broom , a muscular female cub who is athletic but also quite feminist in her beliefs. One of the few cubs to stand up to Too-Tall on a regular basis besides Brother.
• Milton Chubb , probably the largest cub in school and in the third grade, Milton was the brunt of teasing when he first arrived. He is now on the wrestling team and is good friends with all the cubs, especially Bertha, his secret "crush."
• Skuzz , the second-in-command of Too-Tall's gang. He wears a crown-like hat and is just as ruthless as Too-Tall.
• Smirk , the silly one of Too-Tall's gang, though not nice. He wears a beanie-like hat and likes to build model airplanes in his spare time.
• Babs Bruno , the daughter of Beartown's police chief, Chief Bruno. A feminist and aspiring poet, she is good friends with Queenie and Bertha. She also occasionally hangs out with Sister and Bonnie.
• Vinnie , the dim-witted one of the Too-Tall gang. He wears a snowcap on his head similar to a skater, though only for looks. He does not get many jokes told by the rest of the gang and is often the one that Too-Tall teases when no one else is around.
• Barry Bruin , Lizzy's older brother. He is also one of the few continuity problems in the series as Lizzy did not have any other siblings when she first moved to Beartown. He loves to tell and play jokes but is always willing to help a friend out.
• Teacher Bob , the third-grade teacher in Bear Country School. Easygoing but firm. Most of the main characters are in his class.
• Teacher Jane , the first-grade teacher in Bear Country School. Also the Bear Scouts' troop leader. Sister and Lizzy are in her class. Very gentle and soft-spoken.

Minor Characters

• Gil Grizzwold , a character who does not speak much but appears in certain books. He appears to be good friends with Ferdy and Harry, but does not talk much with Brother or Sister.
• Mervyn "Bullhorn" Grizzmeyer , the school's coach and vice principal. A no-nonsense, strict disciplinarian, he is constantly keeping Too-Tall in line. Dictator-like, even setting up a strict dress code that failed after a few weeks, he is not afraid to put anyone in line, even Papa Bear.
• Mr. Honeycomb , the principal of Bear Country School. He appears to be laid-back but in charge, since most of the discipline is set out by Mr. Grizzmeyer.
• Miss Glitch , Bear Country School's fourth-grade teacher and also the English teacher, she is similar to Mr. Grizzmeyer. She loves poetry and classical music. While she means well, she often serves as nemesis to Brother, Sister, and their friends.
• Miss Honeybear , the kindergarten teacher at Bear Country School. Only appeared in one book.
• Sister's jumprope friends , called Anna, Millie, and Linda. They have appeared in a few books, but do not appear to be major characters in any plot so far.
• Bermuda McBear , Queenie's older cousin who is in the fourth grade, though her actions appear to be more teenage-oriented. A bigger flirt than Queenie and object of attention for the boys in the school, along with Bonnie.
• Biff Bruin , Lizzy and Barry's dad, who runs the pharmacy in Beartown.
• Willie and Min Bear , Fred's parents. Not active in any plot but appear in a few books.
• Mr. Kusler, a neighborhood bear, has a mullet.
• Miz Mcgrizz A woman who dresses up as a witch for halloween. She acually turns out to be friendly, even though her costume scares Brother and sister. Appeared in "The berenstain bears Trick or Treat."

Berenstain Bears media

Books

Over 300 Berenstain Bears books have been published since the 1960s.

Television

The Berenstain Bears have appeared in three animated series.

Original series

The following NBC Holiday specials were produced in the late 1970s and early 1980s:

• The Berenstain Bears' Christmas Tree (1979)
• The Berenstain Bears Meet Bigpaw (1980)
• The Berenstain Bears' Easter Surprise (1981)
• The Berenstain Bears' Valentine Special (1982)
• The Berenstain Bears' Littlest Leaguer (1983)

1985 series

This series was produced by Southern Star Productions in 1985, and featured two 11-minute stories per episode. While the first story to be shown was usually an adaptation of one of the books, a new story would make up the second half of the program. Some of these new stories prominently featured a villain in the form of Archweasle McGreed, who was out "to take over Bear Country lock, stock, and honeypot." Unlike most of the characters from the books, McGreed was created entirely for the cartoon, but managed to find his way into several novel books.

2003 series

The latter cartoon is currently running on PBS and internationally. It has since been released on DVD. The series also aired on PBS Kids with Seven Little Monsters from 2003–2004.

Computer software

They have appeared in a variety of edutainment software.

Examples include:

• The Berenstain Bears: Camping Adventure , (Sega Genesis, Sega Game Gear)
• The Berenstain Bears On Their Own, and You on Your Own , (CD-i)
• The Berenstain Bears: Learning At Home, Volume One , (Compton's New Media) (1993, PC) ^[2]
• Berenstain Bears and The Spooky Old Tree , (Namco) (2005, Game Boy Advance).

Praise

Over the years, the Berenstain Bears books have been the subject of much favorable comment from education professionals and the reading public.

"The Berenstains have the extraordinary ability to communicate universal experiences and uplifting messages," -Laurie Norton Moffat, director of the Norman Rockwell Museum in Stockbridge, Mass.; NY Times, Nov. 30, 2005

"They were able to take the real issues of children's lives and make them entertaining and not preachy," -Ilene Abramson, director of children's services at the Los Angeles Public Library; LA Times, Nov. 30, 2005

"Among the generation of children growing up in the '70s and early '80s, The Berenstain Bears books are spoken of like zen koans, or like biblical allegories." -Aemillia Scott, Flak Magazine Online, Nov. 30, 2005

Controversy and criticism

The Berenstain Bears books have drawn criticisms of Papa Bear portraying a bumbling, inept father figure. ^{[3] [4] [5]} As summarized in Stan Berenstain's November 30, 2005, obituary in the New York Times:

"...In what might be seen as a tribute to the Berenstain Bears' ubiquity, critics for years have commented on the ursine clan's adherence to gender stereotypes, including Mama Bear's ever-so-brief fling at working outside the home, only to retreat to the cubs. Papa Bear's bumbling incompetence, compared with Mama Bear's warm, wise effectiveness, has spawned particular ire." ^[6]

The authors have in the past stated that the parent bears merely reflected their own personalities. "Papa and Mama are roughly modeled after us," Stan Berenstain said in a 1991 Philadelphia Inquirer article. "I'm not quite as dumb as he seems to be sometimes, and Jan is not quite as wise and patient as Mama, but she is Mama."

In 2000 Extreme Sports with the Berenstain Bears was released for the Game Boy Color. The game was rated "One of the worst games in the history of electronic games" by popular video game magazine Electronic Gaming Monthly.

Notes and references