Little Bear (book)

Little Bear is a series of children's books, primarily involving the interaction of Little Bear (a small cub) and Mother Bear (his mother), written by Else Holmelund Minarik and illustrated by Maurice Sendak. Initially, the stories were simple, but eventually became more sophisticated in subsequent books as the plot and characters expanded.

First edition (publ. Harper & Brothers)
Little Bear Father Bear Comes Home Little Bear's Friend Little Bear's Visit A Kiss for Little Bear Little Bear and the Marco Polo
Author	Else Holmelund Minarik
Illustrator	Maurice Sendak (1-5) Dorothy Doubleday (6)
No. of books	6

The first four Little Bear books consist of four stories, each of which involves Little Bear and a slowly expanding cast of support characters, each named after their respective species. The Little Bear character and his immediate family display many bear-like characteristics and mannerisms, but only on occasion. They live in a culture and technology which seems to be the woodland equivalent of a Little House on the Prairie setting, but with richer items. Little Bear is depicted as friendly and adventurous with his animal friends.

This series of books went on to spawn a TV series, Little Bear, including specials and a "feature length" direct-to-video release, the movie entitled The Little Bear Movie. The series was produced by Nelvana and starred Kristin Fairlie as the voice of Little Bear.

The five original Little Bear books were illustrated by Maurice Sendak. In 2010, two years before her death, Minarik published a sixth book, Little Bear and the Marco Polo, which was illustrated by Dorothy Doubleday.[1]