Jan Berenstain, who created the Berenstain Bears books with her husband Stan, has died at the age of 88. The characters were created 50 years ago, with the first book, The Big Honey Hunt, published in 1962.
The characters—Mama Bear, Papa Bear, Brother Bear and Sister Bear—were inspired by the Berenstain children, according to the AP, and the stories addressed things like dentist visits, peer pressure, and summer camp. Last year Jan told them, "Family values is what we're all about."
Surprisingly, word of Jan's death has also resurfaced criticism about the books—yes, there are people who weren't very into the cute bear family that lived in an adorable tree house, including the Gray Lady! In 1988 the NY Times called the bears "a thoroughly disagreeable bunch," and referred to Mama Bear as "nagging" and caring "more about how the Bears' tree house looks than whether anyone is happy inside." Today Wonkette revisited Washington Post writer Charles Krauthammer's takedown, in which he wrote, “I hate the Berenstain Bears,” and basically called Papa Bear a “post-feminist manslave pussy."
But we LOVE the Berenstain Bears, so we reached out to the New York Public Library to find out what kind of treasure they may have there. Sadly, they aren't aware of any Berenstain memorabilia in their collection, but said, "We definitely have a ton of their books, including e-books," as well as their autobiography. They also pointed us to the Strong Museum in Rochester, who have more on display.
If you want to revisit the Bears in NYC, you'll have to attend this Berenstain Bears Live event... which looks sort of crazy.
