The first book in the series, titled Little Bear, was published in 1957 by Harper and Brothers, now known as HarperCollins. It was the first entry in the I Can Read! line of children's books, which is characterized by simple sentences using familiar vocabulary for young readers to learn.[1] The book introduced Little Bear and his mother, Mother Bear, and his friends, Cat, Duck, and Hen. Subsequent books in the Little Bear series—published in 1959, 1960, 1961, and 1968[3]—introduced Little Bear's father, Father Bear; another of his friends, Owl; a girl he meets named Emily; his grandparents, Grandmother and Grandfather Bear; and some other friends, including two skunks.
In a 2006 interview, Minarik discussed why she chose bears as the subjects of her books: "I thought to myself, all children of all colours would be reading the stories. All children love animals. The bear is fine. I love them because Mother took me to the Bronx zoo every day, and I fell in love with the cubs. My bears were a family."[2]
From 2002 to 2004, twenty-eight new Little Bear books were published, authored by Minarik and based on episodes from the TV series. Though Sendak did not return to illustrate this series himself, he did pick its artists:[9]David T. Wenzel illustrated twelve of the books, Chris Hahner illustrated another twelve, Heather Green illustrated two, and Teri Lee illustrated another two. In 2010, two years prior to her death,[3] Minarik wrote one final Little Bear book, Little Bear and the Marco Polo, illustrated by Dorothy Doubleday.[10]
Characters
Little Bear: A friendly, curious, and imaginative bear cub who lives in the forest.
Mother Bear: Little Bear's loving mother, who is always there for her son.
Father Bear: Little Bear's father, a fisherman who is often away at sea.
Grandmother Bear: Little Bear's grandmother, a kind old bear who bakes cakes and tells stories.
Grandfather Bear: Little Bear's grandfather, a jolly old bear who plays with his grandson and tells stories.
Cat, Duck, Hen, and Owl: Little Bear's animal friends.
Emily: A girl who Little Bear meets and befriends.
Author
Else Holmelund Minarik had a long career in writing.[11] She wrote many books, including the entire Little Bear series. Minarik was born in Denmark in 1920, then moved to New York when she was four years old.[3] She always loved the fairy tales written by Hans Christian Andersen, inspiring her own writing.[1]
She studied Art and Psychology at Queens College, before working as a reporter for the Daily Sentinel of Rome, New York. Shortly thereafter, however, Minarik took up a job as a first-grade teacher on Long Island.[3] Her teaching career, as well as her daughter, inspired her to finally write Little Bear in 1957.[1] Before publishing with Harper, Minarik showed Little Bear to Random House, where an editor made a suggestion to change the bears into humans, which she disagreed with. Thirty-four Little Bear books later, Minarik died at the age of 91 in 2012 after her final Little Bear book was published in 2010.[3]
Chris Hahner illustrated twelve Little Bear books based on episodes of the Little Bear TV series,[9] including Little Bear's Loose Tooth,[16]I Miss You, Father Bear,[17] and The Toys' Wedding.[18]
Teri Lee illustrated Father Bear's Special Day[21] and Mother Bear's Picnic,[22] based on episodes of the Little Bear TV series.[9]
Dorothy Doubleday illustrated Little Bear and the Marco Polo, the sixth original Little Bear book, dedicating her illustrations "To my daughter Deirdre, who loved Little Bear."[23]
Readers are introduced to Little Bear and his mom, Mother Bear. The reader finds out that Mother Bear knows what Little Bear needs by giving him a warm outfit, a good lunch, and plans a wonderful birthday for him. This book shows us the inner life of Little Bear, his family, and friends.
Little Bear makes a new friend with a girl named Emily and her doll, Lucy. When Emily has to leave when the summer ends, she leaves a sad Little Bear until they can come up with a solution to stay in touch.
Little Bear visits his grandparents. Grandfather lets him try on his clothes, and grandmother cooks for him. Little Bear hears stories from their past and enjoys his time with them.
Little Bear sends a hand drawn picture to his Grandmother, and she sends him back a kiss through his friends. The kiss goes from Hen to Cat, then to Little Skunk, and eventually to Little Bear.
Little Bear gathers delicious snacks in his wagon to take to his Grandmother's house. He meets many hungry friends while he walks along the way and learns how to share.
Little Bear has a tooth waiting to come out. His friends, Emily, Cat, Duck, and Owl, work together to help him get his tooth out so he can give it to the tooth fairy.
Little Bear searches for the perfect present for Mother Bear's birthday. Each of his friends come up with ideas that they think is best, but Little Bear must make a good choice for Mother Bear.
Little Bear goes on his first camping trip and makes a new friend: Cub. Cub lives in the woods and helps Little Bear explore his nature-filled home. They go on a wild adventure where Cub shows Little Bear things he's never seen before.
Love is in the air as Little Bear sends valentines to all his friends and his mother. He also tries to figure out who his secret admirer is that sent him a valentine.
Among his friends, Little Bear camps out in his garden for a Spring night under the stars. He has never slept outside before so he is nervous, and quickly learns that there are many unknowns outside.
In the concluding book to the series, Little Bear finds his Grandfather's old captain's uniform from when he was at sea. His Grandfather then wanted to show Little Bear something more compelling: his boat.
In 1996, British actor Peter Sallis, best known as the voice of Wallace from the Wallace & Gromit franchise, narrated a pair of Little Bear audiobooks: Little Bear and Little Bear's Visit.[24]
Little Bear has been recognized as an ALA Notable Children's Book[5] and named "one of the best children's books of the previous half century" by The New York Times Book Review in 1997. Critics appreciated the "crystalline accessibility" and "evocative warmth" of Else Holmelund Minarik's prose, as well as Maurice Sendak's "Victorian-inflected" illustrations,[3] which Anna K. Reynolds of Inspire Virtue described as "expressive and evocative," not cartoony.[1] In 1962, Little Bear's Visit was awarded a Caldecott Honor.[4] Margalit Fox of The New York Times described the text of Little Bear as embodying "the exquisite simplicity of a haiku poem,"[3] citing the opening lines of the first book:
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