How did the decision come about to include your family name in the title of the series?
It was Dr. Seuss’s fault. He put a banner on the cover of their second book, The Bike Lesson, saying, “ANOTHER ADVENTURE OF THE BERENSTAIN BEARS.”
He explained it was like a vaudeville act—as in “Dugan’s Dogs” or “Charlie’s Chimps.” He also shortened their names from Stanley and Janice Berenstain to Stan and Jan Berenstain, because that is what they call each other and plus, it rhymes.
Were your parents surprised by the popularity of the series? Why do you think the bears are still so popular almost 60 years later?
The answer to the first question is simply, yes. As to the second, I believe there are a number of reasons. For one thing, bears as children’s book characters are a natural stand-in for people. They are something like people but not too much like them. They have rounded heads with eyes in front, they sometimes stand on their hind legs and they manipulate things with hand-like paws. We often say of large burly people that they are “bear-like.”
But bears are definitely animals. They are analogous to human beings without being like them.
Children are fascinated by large, powerful animals like bears. But they are threatened by them, as well. The role of bears as semi-human children’s book characters may help reassure children about their own position in the food chain.
My family’s own contribution to the literary bear clan has come to be universally identified with what may cautiously be described as “family values.” American moms, pops and kids know and trust our characters as guides to the overwhelming task of attempting to become a sane, secure and well-adjusted family.
We have received countless letters and comments from parents and their offspring who have found our books helpful in getting over those proverbial rough-spots in the bob sled run of family existence.
It was, I hasten to add, never our intention to take on this role of do-it-yourself family counselors. We prefer to leave serious psychologizing to the duly designated, licensed and recognized professional authorities. But, now, we’re pretty much stuck with it.
People are always telling us that they like our books because “they teach good lessons.” I beg to quibble with this well-meant characterization. I think people actually like our books because “they teach lessons good.”
The ethical messages of our books are not very original. They lean heavily on such standbys as the Golden Rule. Their appeal comes, rather, from the way in which this familiar material is presented.
We have worked very hard to make our books funny and visually enriching. We’ve tried to make our characters fully dimensional and recognizable. And we’ve tried to tell good stories. Our books actually have plots—not as convoluted as Harry Potter, admittedly—but, still, good for turning a few pages.
How do you choose your topics for each story? Are they more based on your own experiences or on what’s happening in our culture at a given time?
They are a combination of both. The children’s books we’ve created have much in common with the child-themed cartoons my parents created in the 1950s to ’70s. Many of the subjects, even the specific jokes and situations, which appeared in Berenstain Bears books had been pioneered with a human rather than ursine cast on the pages of The Saturday Evening Post, Collier’s and McCall’s.
As they progressed with their popular Berenstain Bears series, Stan and Jan began to branch out from the zany slap stickstyle of their early work with Seuss to more naturalistic subject matter. The first of these was The Berenstain Bears’ New Baby, the precursor of a line of best-selling paperback books on themes about family life.
Such titles as The Berenstain Bears Go to School, Visit the Dentist, Get in a Fight and Learn about Strangers became immensely popular during the 1980s and continue as bestsellers to this day. The everyday world of family life is infinite in its variety and richness. It will always provide a fertile ground for Berenstain Bears stories.
Click through to learn about why Mike launched a series of Christian books with the Berenstain Bears…