Let's talk about every single Berenstain Bears book, shall we?
Stop everything! Bear Country has a beach?! Apparently so, and The Bear Family is set to have a great time beachin’ on vaca! At least, Papa and Small Bear are; Mama . . . she takes a backseat for this one. Still, this book has it all: sand, water, rocks, and a challenge to the Old Gods. Don’t miss it!
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What happens when Stan and Jan throw three new cubs into the Papa Bear/Small Bear mix? Turns out . . . they don’t end up playing a huge role in the story. Or, making much of a difference. Still, three new cubs! Do they get names? Do they speak lines? Do they evolve into Cousin Freddy? No. No. And, I don’t know. Haven’t gotten there yet. Still. Three new cubs!
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If you don’t see this collection as a thing of beauty, you need to spend more time in Bear Country!
Do you like turning points? I do! And “The Bears’ Picnic” – darn that apostrophe; trips me up every time – is a major turning point for not only the Bear Family but for Stan and Jan Berenstain as artists, writers and collaborators. We’ll get into that in this episode as well as new locations in Bear Country!
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It’s a bonus episode! Holy cats! What brought this on? I wanted to cover “Nothing Ever Happens at the South Pole” before I lost my enthusiasm for it. It’s a clunky, weird, kinda terrible book BUT it’s super important in the history of the development of Stan and Jan Berenstain as writers. Super important. So, I’m not covering it just to knock it, but to examine it within the context of the Berenstains’ career.
Looking back, I think I got a couple of dates wrong in my retelling of the story of this book’s inception. If you can find it in your hearts to whistle past that . . . do so?
I’ll be back in a few days – fingers crossed – with “The Bear’s Picnic” which is AWESOME and I’m very excited about singing its praises!
Well, this is exciting! The first NAMED Berenstain Bears book! By which I mean, of course, that it’s the first book which identifies the Bear Family as “The Berensatin Bears.” Much like “The Addams Family” referred to “the family created by Charles Addams.” This all came as a surprise to Stan and Jan Berenstain. Which reminds me! It’s also the first book that refers to them as “Stan and Jan Berenstain” rather than as “Stanley and Janice.” And, isn’t that nice?
So, woo-hoo for this. Be sure to stay tuned for more episodes coming soon. I’ve got a few treats up my sleeves. Also, pop by Twitter and follow us! And, rate and review us on iTunes! It’d be really cool of you to do! Thanks!
Finally! An actual book!
“The Big Honey Hunt” marks the introduction of the Bear Family – Papa, Mama and . . . Small. Notice how many ideas that would carry over into later books are already in place: the tree house, the outfits, the attitudes of the bears. This was due to Dr. Seuss’s very exacting editorial hand. He insisted that Stan and Jan build these characters from the ground up; that the Bears exist as fully realized characters before the Berenstains begin writing about them. And, it shows. The Bears arrive fully realized as characters. Not, of course, as the characters they would eventually grow into, but as characters in their own right.
Now, there is a strong Seussian influence on these early books. Specifically, the ramping up of craziness and the physical comedy perpetrated by Papa Bear. This intentional “zaniness” will lighten over the course of the early books, but never fully leave until we get into books for younger children. For now, it’s all zaniness, all the time.
Hello! And welcome to the first episode of “Deep In Bear Country: A Berenstain Bearcast.” In this episode, I take you through the whole reason this thing even exists. I give you a little rundown of the history of authors Stan and Jan Berenstain and hopefully prepare you for the long LONG journey to come.
All of the biographical information in the episode comes from “Down A Sunny Dirt Road – An Autobiography” by Stan and Jan Berenstain. It’s an invaluable source of information and I’ll be covering it specifically in a later episode.