Little Bear

Author	Else Holmelund Minarik
Illustrator	Maurice Sendak (5) David T. Wenzel (12) Chris Hahner (12) Heather Green (2) Teri Lee (2) Dorothy Doubleday (1)
Country	United States
Language	English
Genre	Picture book
Publisher	Harper & Brothers Harper & Row HarperFestival HarperCollins Publishers
Published	1957–2010
No. of books	34

Little Bear is a series of children's picture books written by Else Holmelund Minarik that primarily involves Little Bear—an anthropomorphic bear cub—his mother and father, and his friends.^[1][2] Little Bear books have sold millions of copies^[3] and achieved multiple awards and recognitions, including a 1962 Caldecott Honor^[4] and a place on the ALA Notable Children's Books list^[5] and The New York Times Book Review's 1997 list of the best children's books of the previous fifty years.^[3]

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]

The first five Little Bear books, illustrated by Maurice Sendak,^[3] were the basis for a TV series that culminated with a direct-to-video feature film^[6] titled The Little Bear Movie.^[7] The series was animated by the Canadian studio Nelvana and starred Kristin Fairlie as the voice of Little Bear.^[8]

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]

• 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.

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]

Little Bear cover art from each illustrator

Maurice Sendak illustrated the first five Little Bear books.^[3] In 1964, he won a Caldecott Medal for his children's picture book, Where The Wild Things Are, becoming known for innovative children's books.^[12] He died in 2012 at the age of 83.^[3]

David T. Wenzel illustrated twelve Little Bear books based on episodes of the Little Bear TV series,^[9] including To Grandmother's House,^[13] The Snowball Fight,^[14] and Lucky Little Bear.^[15]

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]

Heather Green illustrated Little Bear's New Friend^[19] and Little Bear's Valentine,^[20] based on The Little Bear Movie and an episode of the Little Bear TV series respectively.^[9] As a painter and printmaker with a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from the University of Arizona, she has had exhibitions in New York and Arizona.^[19]

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]

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:

It is cold.

See the snow.

See the snow come down.

Little Bear said, "Mother Bear,

I am cold.

See the snow.

I want something to put on."