Jan Berenstain

Stan and Jan Berenstain were already successful cartoonists
for magazines and adult humor books when they had a great
idea for a children's book. Their sons, Leo and Mike, had
just begun to read, and they decided to create a funny
family who would have the everyday adventures children
really want to read about. Then, as the Berenstains
explain, "We chose bears because they can stand up, they
look good in clothes, and they are fun to draw." The first
story starring the Bear family, the big honey hunt,
appeared in 1962. Since then more than 250 Berenstain Bears
books have been published, and over 240 million copies
sold, making the Berenstain Bears arguably the best-selling
children's book series ever.

Over the years the stories have expanded to include picture
books, beginning readers, and chapter books, and writing
and illustrating the books has become a Berenstain family
affair. Leo is the author of several of the chapter books,
and Mike has illustrated more than forty Berenstain Bears
books -- including this one. He has also written thirty-odd
books on his own. The Bear family has expanded over the
years as well. Sister Bear arrived in 1974, and another new
baby joined the family in 2000.

Stan and Jan and Mike Berenstain live in Bucks County,
Pennsylvania, where they continue to write and illustrate
wonderful new adventures for Mama, Papa, Brother, Sister,
and Honey Bear.