Jan Berenstein; Never Forgotten

Jan Berenstain, the co-creator and illustrator of the popular children's book series The Berenstain Bears unfortunately passed away Fri., Feb. 24, 2012.  Berenstain, who was a ripe old 88 at the time of her demise, underwent a stroke late Thursday and never regained consciousness, before being pronounced dead the following day. She had lived in Solebury, Pennsylvania for many years.  She wrote The Berenstain Bears series with her late husband Stan, whose 2005 death preceded her own. The Berenstains brought to life the family of Berenstain Bears, Mama Bear, Papa Bear, Brother Bear and Sister Bear, for over fifty years. Many children and their parents were touched by the series, which often had a moral lesson concerning family values ingrained within the text and colorful illustrations.

Accoridng to Fox News, since the 1962 release of the first Berenstein book, The Big Honey Hunt, over 300 different books have been released in 23 different languages.  The books had become wildly popular in schools and homes, and were even made into a cartoon for television. The series was based off of the Berenstains real family, lending a touch of reality to every story. Family was clearly important to the Berenstains, whose sons later became involved in the business. The oldest son and writer Leo is now involved in the business and financial end while Mike, the younger son, helped illustrate the later books. 

According to the Pennsylvania Center for the Book, Jan Berenstain was influenced by her own interest in how rhyming helped her learn new words and read as a child. Her major influences on the series included her own life events, for example the book The Berenstain Bears' New Baby was written after Mike was a new addition to the Berenstain family. This was the wonder and charmer of the series, which parents and children loved alike. Each book held a lesson or moral that could be taught, and an outlet to help children cope with events that might be going on in their life. The books' themes were universal enough to be marketed all over the world, and local enough to be enjoyed right here at home.

The Berenstains were extremely successful authors, and sold over 240 million copies of their children's books, fifteen of which were featured in the 100 top children's paperbacks. Throughout their career, Jan and Stan received awards ranging from the Ludington Award for Educational Paperbacks to multiple Philadelphia Children's Literary Roundtable honors. Even with the honorable and notable honors they have received, it has been said that their favorite and most important honors were from their children. Berenstain leaves behind her two sons, Mike and Leo and four grandchildren. Although Stan and Jan are both deceased, their name will live on in the heart-warming books they created and brought to life.