The Berenstain Bears

The Berenstain Bears is a series of children's books created by Stan and Jan Berenstain. The series is continued by their son Mike Berenstain, who in 2002, assumed partial authorship, before acquiring full authorship following his mother's death in 2012.

Each book in the series features a family of anthropomorphic grizzly bears who learn a moral or safety-related lesson in the course of each story. Since the 1962 debut of the first Berenstain Bears book, The Big Honey Hunt, the series has grown to over 300 titles, which sold approximately 260 million copies in over 23 languages. The franchise expanded well beyond the books, encompassing two television series and a wide variety of other products and licenses. While enjoying decades of popularity, the series has been criticized for its perceived saccharine tone and formulaic storytelling.

Specials

The Berenstain Bears first appeared on television in five animated specials. All of them aired on NBC.

Title	Network		Airdate
The Berenstain Bears' Christmas Tree	NBC		December 3, 1979
The Berenstain Bears Meet Bigpaw	NBC		November 20, 1980
The Berenstain Bears and the Real Easter Egg	NBC		April 14, 1981
The Berenstain Bears' Valentine Special	NBC		February 13, 1982
The Berenstain Bears' Littlest Leaguer	NBC		May 6, 1983