Although The Berenstain Bears did not make their first appearance until 1962, Stan and Jan Berenstain had been publishing cartoons in magazines such as "Collier's" and "The Saturday Evening Post" since the 1940s. They published their first book, "The Berenstains' Baby Book," in 1951. It was about raising their first son, Leo Berenstain. "The Berenstains' Baby Book" featured illustrations by the couple. More than a dozen books in the genre of family and child-raising were written by the Berenstains.
The Berenstain Bears are a cartoon family of bears that originally included Mama Bear, Papa Bear and Small Bear. They first appeared in 1962 in "The Big Honey Hunt." Many of The Berenstain Bears books are centered around themes of family life, with titles such as "The Berenstain Bears Get the Gimmies" and "The Berenstain Bears Get in a Fight."
In the 1974 book, "The Berenstain Bears' New Baby," the character of Sister Bear was added, and Small Bear became Brother Bear.
The complete list of books featuring The Berenstain Bears, as well as other work by the Berenstain family, is available at their official website (see Resources).
In addition to the hundreds of children's storybooks featuring The Berenstain Bears, the characters have been featured in many other forms of media. These include three television series, several made-for-TV and direct-to-video movies, activity books and live stage shows.
In 2009, Walden Media obtained the film rights to The Berenstein Bears, and as of 2011 a feature film starring the bears is currently in development.
Stan Berenstain died from lymphoma in November 2005, but The Berenstain Bears books are still being produced by Jan Berenstain and her son, Mike Berenstain. Mike Berenstain has worked with his parents on The Berenstain Bears books since the 1980s.