Janice “Jan” Berenstain died this past Friday after a severe stroke on Thursday.
Jan along with her husband Stan, created a book series for pre-schoolers over a period of 50 years. Jan and Stan met when they were 18 on their first day of art school. They married years later after Stan returned from a stint in the army as a medical illustrator in an army hospital. During that time, Jan worked as a draftsman in the Army Corp of Engineers and a riveter of seaplanes.
Their books focused on family values. True family values, not like some of the crap being espoused today. Being kind, respectful, patient and loving were some of the key themes in their works.
Jan and Stan Berenstain are responsible for about “260 million copies of Berenstain Bears books have been held in the hands of children and their parents since the earliest books were published with the help of Theodor Geisel, a children’s books editor at Random House better known as Dr. Seuss.” Their 300 titles were translated into over 20 languages.
Personally, my favorite was about a trip to the dentist. Wildkid#3 had a tough time when he was a preschooler going to the dentist. The book really did a nice job preparing him for what was going to happen.
