A Literary Loss: Jan Berenstain

On Friday, the literary world lost one of the twentieth century's best-loved children's authors: sadly,  Jan Berenstain, co-creator of the Berenstain Bears with her husband Stan, died on February 24th at the age of 88 (story here). 

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We grew up on the Berenstain Bears....  The Spooky Old Tree creeped me out as a child, yet I couldn't put it down - oh! the delicious, electrifying, terrifying excitement! And that silly Papa Bear, he couldn't get a thing right in The Bike Lesson... or in The Bears' Picnic... or in The Bears' Vacation.... in fact, did he ever do anything right?? 

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Inside, Outside, Upside Down was one of the first books I read to my boys. I remember sitting each of them on my lap as I turned the pages and read it aloud - they loved the rhythm of the story. In fact, Berenstain Bears books are as much a go-to favorite for my children as they were for me & my brother when we were kids. In addition to my favourites listed above, my boys also like The Berenstain Bears and the Missing Dinosaur Bone - that sneaky ol' pup!

I would be shocked - shocked - to hear of anyone who is unaware of the Berenstain Bears books. If, however, there are a few of you, then head over here (chapters.ca) and browse their titles. Your children will love the humour,  and many of the titles are the perfect "first books" for children whilst learning to read: the short sentences, rhyming words, and self-explaining illustrations will boost kids' abilities and confidence in no time :-) Plus, as the series grew in popularity, the Berenstains used their books as a medium to help children cope with first-day-of-school-jitters, bullying, fighting, responsibility and a slew of other topics - a resource to keep in mind if you ever find yourself in need!

So...

Thank you Mrs. Berenstain  for the wonderful Bear family you created with your husband, and for all you have given to me and my family through them! Thank you for the memories and the laughs. And Rest in Peace. 


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