The Berenstain Bears in Maniac Mansion (Big Chapter Books(TM)) [Paperback]

Stan Berenstain (Author), Jan Berenstain (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 15, 1996 | Age Level: 7 and up | Series: Big Chapter Books(TM)

Illustrated in black-and-white. When Papa Bear discovers that almost all of the antiques in the Grizzly mansion have been replaced with fakes, the Bear Detectives spring into action. Could it really be as simple as the butler did it?  

Editorial Reviews

From the Inside Flap

Illustrated in black-and-white. When Papa Bear discovers that almost all of the antiques in the Grizzly mansion have been replaced with fakes, the Bear Detectives spring into action. Could it really be as simple as the butler did it?  

About the Author

Stan and Jan Berenstain were both born in 1923 in Philadelphia.  They didn't know each other as children, but met later at school, at the Philadelphia College of Art.  They liked each other right away, and found out that the both enjoyed the same kinds of books, plays, music and art.  During World War II, Stan was a medical assistant in the Army, and Jan worked in an airplane factory.  When the war was over, they got married and began to work together as artists and writers, primarily drawing cartoons for popular magazines.  After having their two sons Leo and Michael, the Berenstains decided to write some funny children's books that their children and other children could read and enjoy.  Their first published children's book was called The Big Honey Hunt .  It was about a family of bears, who later became known as the "Berenstain Bears".  

Over 50 children's books later, Stan and Jan still plan all of their books together -- both write the stories, and both write the pictures.  They live outside of Philadelphia in the country.

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 7 and up
  
• Paperback: 104 pages
• Publisher: Random House Books for Young Readers; illustrated edition edition (October 15, 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0679881565
• ISBN-13: 978-0679881568
• Product Dimensions: 7.4 x 5 x 0.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4 ounces
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,742,517 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Stan and Jan Berenstain were already successful cartoonists for magazines and adult humor books when they began writing children's books. The first story starring the bear family, The Big Honey Hunt, appeared in 1962. Since then, more than 300 Berenstain Bears books have been published, and more than 260 million copies have been sold. What began as an idea sparked by their young sons' love of reading has become over the years arguably the best-selling children's book series ever.


Since their inception, the Berenstain Bears stories have expanded to include picture books, beginning readers, and chapter books--even a hit TV show on PBS. Writing and illustrating the books has become a Berenstain family affair. Mike joined with his parents as a creative team in the late 1980s. The Bear family has expanded over the years as well. Sister Bear arrived in 1974, and baby Honey joined the family in 2000.

Since Stan's death at age eighty-two in 2005, Jan and Mike have continued to write and illustrate wonderful new adventures for Mama, Papa, Brother, Sister, and Honey Bear. They live in Bucks County, Pennsylvania, which looks a lot like Bear Country.