Mike Berenstain

Mike Berenstain
Born Michael Berenstain
(1951-12-21) December 21, 1951
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.
Occupation Writer, illustrator
Years active 1976-present


Michael Berenstain (born December 21, 1951) is an American writer and illustrator of children's books. The son of Stan and Jan Berenstain, he continues the Berenstain Bears series of picture books that his parents inaugurated in 1962.[1][2]

Berenstain was born in Philadelphia. 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 (Random House, 1987 and 1988), after which he did several dinosaur books himself. He is credited as a creator of his family's bear family beginning in 1995 as illustrator of the Bear Scouts subseries. Mike continued the Berenstain Bears with his mother following Stan's death in 2005, and took over creation of the series after Jan's death in 2012.[1][5] His older brother Leo Berenstain is involved in management of the franchise.[2]

Berenstain'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 religiously-themed Berenstain Bears books.[6]

References

  1. 1 2 Bartlett, Jaye. "Mike Berenstain talks about the Berenstain Bears' 50th anniversary". The Celebrity Cafe. May 2, 2012. Retrieved 2013-07-05.
  2. 1 2 Loviglio, Joann. "50 Years Along, Berenstain Bears A Family Affair". Associated Press. The Washington Times. January 30, 2011. Retrieved 2013-07-05.
  3. ↑ "Michael Berenstain Papers". de Grummond Children's Literature Collection. University of Southern Mississippi. Retrieved 2013-07-10. Materials dated 1977–1978, received 1979, processed 2003.
  4. ↑ "K'tonton on an island in the sea : a hitherto unreported episode in the ...". Library of Congress catalog record. Retrieved 2013-07-05.
  5. ↑ Langer, Emily. "Jan Berenstain, co-creator of the Berenstain Bears children's books, dies at 88". The Washington Post. February 27, 2012. Retrieved 2013-07-05.
  6. ↑ http://www.christianpost.com/news/berenstain-bears-author-uses-his-talents-for-god-in-faith-inspired-series-51146/


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