Mike Berenstain | |
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 Berenstain in 2017 | |
| Born | Michael Berenstain December 21, 1951 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S. |
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| Years active | 1976–present |
| Parent | Stan and Jan Berenstain |
Michael Berenstain (born December 21, 1951) is an American writer and illustrator of children's books. The son of the late Stan and Jan Berenstain, he is the current author of the Berenstain Bears series of picture books following the deaths of his parents. [1] [2]
Michael was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He studied at Philadelphia College of Art and the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts. [3] His earliest work in the U.S. Library of Congress catalog was published in 1976: K'tonton on an Island in the Sea by Sadie Rose Weilerstein, which he illustrated as Michael Berenstain (Philadelphia: Jewish Publication Society of America). The third K'tonton book, it features "Adventures of a thumb-sized Jewish boy who must fend for himself when stranded on an island." [4] During the next three years he wrote and illustrated four instructive picture books published by David McKay, The Castle Book and sequels on ships, armor, and lighthouses. He first collaborated with his parents by illustrating two picture books (The Day of the Dinosaur and After the Dinosaurs --by Random House, 1987 and 1988). He wrote and illustrated several other dinosaur books --known as the I Love Dinosaurs book series-- himself (including King of the Dinosaurs, The Biggest Dinosaurs, The Spike-Tailed Dinosaur, The Horned Dinosaur, and Flying Dinosaurs). These five books are the five sequels to The Day of the Dinosaur.
He is credited as a creator of his family's bear family beginning in 1995 as illustrator of the Bear Scouts subseries. Michael continued the Berenstain Bears with his mother following his father's death in 2005, and took over sole authorship of the series after his mother's death in 2012. [1] [5] His older brother, Leo Berenstain is involved in management of the franchise. [2]
Michael's father was a secular Jew, and his mother was an Episcopalian. He and his brother were raised in a secular household. Berenstain began investigating Christianity after he married and sent his children to Quaker schools. He was baptized in a Presbyterian church and eventually partnered with Zondervan, an evangelical Christian publishing company, to produce faith-based Berenstain Bears books. [6]
Margret Elizabeth Rey was a German-born American writer and illustrator, best known for the Curious George series of children's picture books that she and her husband H. A. Rey created from 1939 to 1966.
William Sherman Pène du Bois was an American writer and illustrator of books for young readers. He is best known for The Twenty-One Balloons, published in April 1947 by Viking Press, for which he won the 1948 Newbery Medal. He was twice a runner-up for the Caldecott Medal for illustrating books written by others, and the two Caldecott Honor picture books, which he also wrote.
The Berenstain Bears is a children's literature franchise created by the late Stan and Jan Berenstain and continued by their son, Mike Berenstain, who assumed partial authorship in 2002, and full authorship in 2012 following his mother's passing. The books feature a family of anthropomorphic grizzly bears who generally learn a moral or safety-related lesson in the course of each story.
Maurice Bernard Sendak was an American author and illustrator of children's books. He became most widely known for his book Where the Wild Things Are, first published in 1963. Born to Polish-Jewish parents, his childhood was affected by the death of many of his family members during the Holocaust. Sendak also wrote works such as In the Night Kitchen, Outside Over There, and illustrated many works by other authors including the Little Bear books by Else Holmelund Minarik.
Stanley Melvin Berenstain and Janice Marian Berenstain were American writers and illustrators best known for creating the children's book series The Berenstain Bears.
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Jan Brett is an American illustrator and writer of children's picture books. Her colorful, detailed depictions of a wide variety of animals and human cultures range from Scandinavia to Africa. Her titles include The Mitten, The Hat, and Gingerbread Baby. She has adapted or retold traditional stories such as the Gingerbread Man and Goldilocks and has illustrated classics such as "The Owl and the Pussycat".
James Edward Marshall was an American illustrator and writer of children's books, probably best known for the George and Martha series of picture books (1972–1988). He illustrated books exclusively as James Marshall; when he created both text and illustrations he sometimes wrote as Edward Marshall. In 2007, the U.S. professional librarians posthumously awarded him the bi-ennial Laura Ingalls Wilder Medal for "substantial and lasting contribution" to American children's literature.
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David Wiesner is an American illustrator and writer of children's books, known best for picture books including some that tell stories without words. As an illustrator he has won three Caldecott Medals recognizing the year's "most distinguished American picture book for children" and he was one of five finalists in 2008 for the biennial, international Hans Christian Andersen Award, the highest recognition available for creators of children's books.
Edward Randolph Emberley is an American artist and illustrator, best known for children's picture books.
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Aliki Liacouras Brandenberg or pen name Aliki is an American author and illustrator of books for children.
Martin Waddell is a writer of children's books from Belfast, Northern Ireland. He may be known best for his picture book texts featuring anthropomorphic animals, especially the Little Bear series illustrated by Barbara Firth.
Christopher John Rocco, simply known as John Rocco is an American illustrator of book covers and children's books. He is best known for illustrating the covers of books in the Percy Jackson & the Olympians series. He is the sole creator of some children's picture books.
Joe Krush and Beth Krush were an American husband-and-wife team of illustrators who worked primarily on children's books. They may be known best for the U.S. editions of all five Borrowers books by Mary Norton, published by Harcourt 1953–1961 and 1982, a series inaugurated very early in their careers.
Adrienne Adams was an American children's book illustrator as well as an artist and writer of children's books. She won two Caldecott Honors and in 1973 she was awarded the Rutgers Award for overall contributions to children’s literature. In 1977, she was awarded the University of Southern Mississippi Medallion.
Sadie Rose Weilerstein was an American author of children's literature. Her works include What the Moon Brought and a series of stories featuring K'Tonton, a Jewish Tom Thumb. Rose Weilerstein was a Zionist, advocating for a Jewish homeland, and an environmentalist.
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