Episode 520 – The Berenstain Bears and BECCA IS CO-HOST!

After more than 11 years of Deep in Bear Country, I officially have a co-host! Becca Peter joins me and she’s brought a Berenstain Bears mystery that has even Mike Berenstain stumped.

Becca has uncovered some unusual hardcover editions featuring messages from Stan and Jan, unfiltered parenting advice, maybe a connection to the Berenstains’ parenting guide(?), and Ronald Reagan’s death. We’re gonna get into these!

We also talk about how Becca found the show, our plans to revisit classic First Time Books, and why vintage coloring books might provide us with an alarming amount of material.

Have one of these mysterious editions? Know where they came from? Have something you’d like us to cover? Write to us at berenstainbearcast@gmail.com!

Episode 519 – Sister Bear Learns to Share | Brother Bear Loves Dinosaurs!

After more than a decade in Bear Country, Becca Peter is still finding Berenstain Bears books that have completely escaped my attention.

This time, we’re exploring Sister Bear Learns to Share and Brother Bear Loves Dinosaurs: two overlooked board books featuring peculiar rhymes, unfamiliar cubs, and a potentially alarming explanation for Brother’s love of dinosaurs.

Does Sister actually have anything to learn about sharing? Who are Jason and Melanie? Is the pterodactyl being a little too showy?

Plus: vintage coloring books with actual plots, our dreams of Berenstain Bears graphic novels, and the joy of discovering there’s still more Bear Country to explore.

Find Becca on TikTok at tiktok.com/@defectivebecca

Episode 518 – Too Loose, Too Tight, Just Right (2026)

Mike Berenstain returns to talk about Too Loose, Too Tight, Just Right, a rediscovered story from Stan and Jan’s archives. We discuss recreating their classic illustration style, navigating publishers’ suggestions, and more unpublished treasures headed for print. Plus: childhood artistic revelations, Dr. Seuss, Peanuts, Richard Scarry, and my entirely reasonable demand for more Ferdy Factual and Trudy Brunowitz.