Little Bear is a series of children's books, primarily involving the interaction of Little Bear (a small cub) and Mother Bear (Little Bear's Mother). The first book in the series was published in 1957, written by Else Holmelund Minarik

Else Holmelund Minarik

Else Holmelund Minarik is the author of the Little Bear series of children's books, which were successful as books, and were also made into a successful children's TV series...

 and illustrated by Maurice Sendak

Maurice Sendak

Maurice Bernard Sendak is an American writer and illustrator of children's literature. He is best known for his book Where the Wild Things Are, published in 1963.-Early life:...

. Initially the stories were simple, but they grew more sophisticated in subsequent books as the plot and characters developed.

Each "book" initially consisted of four stories, each of which involved Little Bear and a slowly growing cast of support characters, generally named after their 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

Little House on the Prairie (novel)

Little House on the Prairie is a children's novel by Laura Ingalls Wilder and was published in 1935. This book is the third of the series of books known as the Little House series....

setting, but with richer items.

This series of books went on to spawn a TV series

Little Bear (TV series)

Maurice Sendak's Little Bear is a Canadian children's television series starring a Little Bear voiced by Kristin Fairlie. Originally produced by Nelvana for Nickelodeon, it currently airs on Treehouse TV in Canada and Nick Jr. in the United States. A direct-to-video full-length feature film was...

 of the same name, including specials and a "feature length" direct-to-video release, the movie entitled The Little Bear Movie

The Little Bear Movie

The Little Bear Movie is a film based on the television series Little Bear, which in turn is based on the book series of the same name which was written by Else Holmelund Minarik and illustrated by Maurice Sendak, and produced by Nelvana Limited for Paramount Pictures and Nickelodeon Movies...

. The series was produced by Nelvana

Nelvana

Nelvana Limited is a Canadian entertainment company founded in 1971 known for its work in children's animation. It was named by founders Michael Hirsh, Patrick Loubert and Clive A. Smith after a Canadian comic book superheroine created by Adrian Dingle in the 1940s...

 and starred Kristin Fairlie

Kristin Fairlie

Kristin Fairlie is an actress and was a child actress. She was the voice of Little Bear on Little Bear. In 1998 she won a Young Artist of Hollywood Award for Best Ensemble for her lead role in the Showtime original movie The Sweetest Gift. Past Winners include Jena Malone and Leonardo DiCaprio...

as the voice of Little Bear.

Little Bear Books

• Little Bear (1957, ISBN 9780590982313)
• Father Bear Comes Home (1959)
• Little Bear's Friend (1960)
• Little Bear's Visit (1961)
• A Kiss for Little Bear (1968)