Deep In Bear Country - A Berenstain Bearcast

Bear Country has a prehistory! We don’t actually learn much about it, but here it is! Dinosaurs! And, here’s the Bear Country museum and its curator Actual Factu – wait. Is that Actual Factual? It . . . it looks like him, but – Okay, we need to take this thing apart. It’s “The Berenstain … Continue reading "Episode 18 – The Berenstain Bears and the Missing Dinosaur Bone"

This week, we explore the hidden depths of what may be the spoooookiest book we’ve covered so far! And, no, it’s NOT “The Spooky Old Tree!” Brother’s fractured subconscious wars within itself and drags its fragments deep below its own comfort zone in these two deceptively simple books. Enjoy! Make peace with your fractured psyche and rate … Continue reading "Episode 17 – The Berenstain Bears’ Counting Book/The Berenstain Bears and The Spooky Old Tree"

Bear Country LOVES science! And, so do I! Join me as I explore the final two books in the rough trilogy started in “The Bears’ Almanac.” These books . . . man, they’re just great. I love ’em. Love, love, love ’em. As always and forever, please Rate and review us on iTunes. Subscribe on Stitcher. Like us on … Continue reading "Episode 16 – The Berenstain Bears’ Nature Guide/Science Fair"

We’re skipping ahead a bit to bring you a BACK TO SCHOOL SPECIAL! That’s right, it’s Sister Bear’s first year of school and to celebrate we have a real live school teacher in the studio with us! We’ll be talking about the verisimilitude of Sister’s Kindergarten classroom, Ms. Honeybear’s approach to meeting children, whether or … Continue reading "Episode 15 – The Berenstain Bears Go To School"

We’re back into the strange world of Small/Brother Bear’s psyche! Where will his concerns bout this new sister take him? And, are the Detectives real or all in our heads? Please Rate and review us on iTunes. Subscribe on Stitcher. Like us on Facebook. Follow us on Twitter. And, join us next week! https://ia601300.us.archive.org/23/items/DIBCEP14/DIBC-EP14.mp3

Please welcome into the Deep In Bear Country Studios (the living room) our first ADULT guest, Elana Gravitz! Elana and I have a great time discussing The Berenstain Bears’ New Baby and covering such topics as: drinking straight from the family honey pot, not telling your kid their new sibling is arriving that day, the Bears’ … Continue reading "Episode 13 – The Berenstain Bears’ New Baby"

Man, I just relistened to this episode and I sound reallllllly mellow. Like, really mellow. Anyway, give it a listen! We’re closing out the end of Deep In Bear Country Phase 1 and entering Phase 2! What does that even mean? Well, it means .  . big things. Big things in store. For . . … Continue reading "Episode 12 – The Berenstain Bears in ‘The Bears’ Almanac’"

We are rapidly approaching Zero Hour, my friends. Small, Papa and to a lesser extent Mama have brought us so far on this journey and now they are preparing to *expand* their universe with . . . *expand* was a joke, see? Like, Mama Bear is expanding across the midsection because of having a baby … Continue reading "Episode 11 – The Berenstain Bears’ Nursery Tales"

We’re still in Dreamland. I know! It feels like we’ve been here forever. Well, trust me when I say this is all leading some place. And, this episode, I think we all get a good idea where that place is. “Bears in the Night” and “C is for Clown” may not seem to be tied … Continue reading "Episode 10 – Bears in the Night/C is for Clown/The Berenstain’s ‘C’ Book"

We’re back for another trip through Small Bear’s Dreamland! And, by “we” I mean “we!” That’s right! Deep In Bear Country welcomes its very first guest! And, she’s young! Very. And, this is dropping on my birthday, so . . . happy birthday to me! As always, thank you for listening! Rate and review us on … Continue reading "Episode 9 – Old Hat, New Hat/The Berenstain’s B Book"

Got ten seconds? Literally, ten seconds? If so, then listen to a sneak peek of what’s coming up . . . next episode! https://ia800508.us.archive.org/24/items/DIBCEP9Outtakes/DIBC-EP9%20Outtakes.mp3

It’s our first holiday book! And . . . the holiday isn’t really that important a part of it. Okay, it’s barely a part of it at all. Still, it’s a landmark so I’ll take it! As always rate and review us on iTunes, download us on Stitcher, like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter! … Continue reading "Episode 8 – The Bears’ Christmas"

It’s a double header! Is that the right term? Who knows?! We are covering the first two Bright and Early Books in the Berenstain’s oeuvre and also learning a little bit of publishing history along the way. PLUS things get weird. Really weird. How weird? How about parallel universe weird? How does that make you … Continue reading "Episode 7 – Inside Outside Upside Down/Bears On Wheels"

Stop everything! Bear Country has a beach?! Apparently so, and The Bear Family is set to have a great time beachin’ on vaca! At least, Papa and Small Bear are; Mama . . . she takes a backseat for this one. Still, this book has it all: sand, water, rocks, and a challenge to the … Continue reading "Episode 6 – The Bears’ Vacation"

What happens when Stan and Jan throw three new cubs into the Papa Bear/Small Bear mix? Turns out . . . they don’t end up playing a huge role in the story. Or, making much of a difference. Still, three new cubs! Do they get names? Do they speak lines? Do they evolve into Cousin … Continue reading "Episode 5 – The Bear Scouts"

Do you like turning points? I do! And “The Bears’ Picnic” – darn that apostrophe; trips me up every time – is a major turning point for not only the Bear Family but for Stan and Jan Berenstain as artists, writers and collaborators. We’ll get into that in this episode as well as new locations … Continue reading "Episode 4 – The Bears’ Picnic"

It’s a bonus episode! Holy cats! What brought this on? I wanted to cover “Nothing Ever Happens at the South Pole” before I lost my enthusiasm for it. It’s a clunky, weird, kinda terrible book BUT it’s super important in the history of the development of Stan and Jan Berenstain as writers. Super important. So, … Continue reading "BONUS EPISODE 1 – Nothing Ever Happens at the South Pole"

Well, this is exciting! The first NAMED Berenstain Bears book! By which I mean, of course, that it’s the first book which identifies the Bear Family as “The Berensatin Bears.” Much like “The Addams Family” referred to “the family created by Charles Addams.” This all came as a surprise to Stan and Jan Berenstain. Which … Continue reading "Episode 3 – The Berenstain Bears and the Bike Lesson!"

Finally! An actual book! “The Big Honey Hunt” marks the introduction of the Bear Family – Papa, Mama and . . . Small. Notice how many ideas that would carry over into later books are already in place: the tree house, the outfits, the attitudes of the bears. This was due to Dr. Seuss’s very … Continue reading "Episode 2 – The Berenstain Bears and The Big Honey Hunt!"

Hello! And welcome to the first episode of “Deep In Bear Country: A Berenstain Bearcast.” In this episode, I take you through the whole reason this thing even exists. I give you a little rundown of the history of authors Stan and Jan Berenstain and hopefully prepare you for the long LONG journey to come. … Continue reading "Deep In Bear Country: Episode 1 – An Introduction!"