It was reported late this afternoon that Jan Berenstain, co-author and illustrator known for the wonderful series, The Berenstain Bears has passed away.

Stan and Jan Berenstain, often referred to as The Berenstain’s began working together in the year 1951 when they created the loveable Berenstain Bears Family that consisted of Mama Bear, Papa Bear, Brother Bear and Sister Bear. This family of bears has been on many bookshelves over the years and with good reason. Each story was filled with life lessons, such as how to keep your room neat and tidy, how to share with your siblings and many, many more.

In my family home, there was always an endless supply of Berenstain Bears books as both my brother and I were big fans! Just to prove how big of fans we were, I’ve included the picture below of us with Brother Bear at the Halifax Word on the Street taken in the mid 90′s:

Let’s hope my Brother Bear AKA Allen
doesn’t kill me for sharing this hilarious picture!

When I heard the news today, it honestly brought up so many wonderful childhood memories, memories of sitting at the bottom of my bed with my Mom or my Dad reading us a Brother and Sister Bear adventure before we went to bed. The Berenstain Bear family was such a fixture in my childhood, as I’m sure it was for many of you.

I was happy to read that Stan (who was previously deceased) and Jan’s legacy will continued to be carried on by their two sons, Mike and Leo.