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Remembering Jan Berenstain

 

In remembrance of Jan Berenstain, 26 July 1923 – 24 February 2012.

Jan and Stan Berenstain

It has been an honor and a privilege to work with Jan Berenstain. Her obvious love of family and life, children and reading … all are reflected in the artwork she has created for so many books over the years.

After working with Mike and Jan Berenstain for three years as an editor for the Berenstain Bears Living Lights series, I was finally able to meet Jan face-to-face this past fall. When I met Jan I was struck almost immediately by her vitality. Though petite in stature, Jan had a spirit and a smile as big as Mama Bear’s! I was pulled into her circle just as easily as most of us Berenstain Bear fans have been pulled into the Bear family and their stories and lessons. Listening to her relate memories of the early Berenstain Bear books and the story of the Bears and their development, and then later having the opportunity to watch as she painted a current project for the Living Lights series, I remember thinking that I was watching a children’s literature icon hard at work. Blessed with a marvelous sense of humor and artistic talent, Jan has brought to life characters that have become friends, family members, and favorite teachers for many of us readers over the past 50 years.

 

This is how I am going to remember Jan … a big smile and a hug, with paints smudging her fingertips … thinking in that sharp mind about the next action-filled, colorful scene on the next spread of the next book …

- Mary Hassinger, Acquisitions Editor, Zonderkidz

 

It has been a childhood dream and an adult privilege for me to work with Jan and Mike Berenstain over the years. I remember the first birthday card sent to Jan from our team and her response, “I love this year’s signed birthday card. Thanks! I’m beginning to understand why readers enjoy getting their books signed — it’s great!” Jan was a kid at heart. She will always be that bubbly person to me. The world is a better place because of Jan Berenstain.

- Annette Bourland, Publisher, Zonderkidz

Image: Jan & Stan Berenstain, via www.harpercollins.com.

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Enter to Win the Berenstain Bears Holy Bible & Brother Bear Tote

 

Enter Sweepstakes
Enter the Giveaway

The Berenstain Bears are hosting a giveaway. Ten winners will receive a Berenstain Bears Holy Bible and a Brother Bear Tote! Enter now, because the giveaway closes on Saturday morning, May 29, 9:59AM EDT!

Enter the Giveaway

 

Illustrated by Mike Berenstain, the Berenstain Bears Holy Bible is in the New International Reader’s Version (NIrV), written at a third-grade reading level and specifically designed to help early readers discover the Bible for themselves.

 

Enter Sweepstakes
Each winner will receive a Brother Bear Tote and the Berenstain Bears Holy Bible

The features of The Berenstain Bears Holy Bible include:

  • Book introductions that provide each book’s main themes, plus an outline of the contents
  • Dictionary that defines key Bible words for quick reference
  • Reading plan for 150 famous stories of the Bible
  • Presentation page for personalization and gift giving
  • 18 full-color pages that highlight virtues taught by God’s Word, such as respect, courage and friendship. Here’s a sample:

 

 

This giveaway reminded me of how much I loved the Berenstain Bears books when I was a kid. So after you enter the giveaway, I’d like to swap stories about lessons we learned from the Berenstain Bears books we read as children.

A Lesson I Learned from the Berenstain Bears
I was 6 when I read The Berenstain Bears and the Double Dare. If you haven’t read it, it’s a good book about dealing with bullies and peer pressure. In this story, Brother Bear falls in with a gang of cruel but charismatic bullies. They pressure Brother Bear to steal a watermelon from Farmer Ben’s patch, and while Brother Bear knows this would be wrong, he really wants to impress his new friends. Brother Bear caves, gets caught in the act, and his new “friends” run away. Fortunately, Farmer Ben has grace on the young cub and shares some wisdom about how Brother Bear can stand up for what he knows is right.

I thought I was taking this lesson to heart, but I was mistaken. I closed the book still thinking the bullies were really cool. I remember thinking, “Maybe if I just don’t bully other people then I can still do bad things and everything will be okay.” This sounded reasonable to me, so I created a new “cool guy costume” (complete with black fingerless gloves, which I made myself) and I went out looking for trouble. I did the baddest thing my six-year-old imagination could think of: I stripped some branches off of a tree.

Within minutes I began to cry. I remember thinking, “Farmer Ben was right!” I learned that day that being bad, even in secret, is not cool.

How about you, did you learn any lessons from the Berenstain Bears books?
(-Adam Forrest, Zondervan Internet Team)

 

 

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