FANTASY BEARS
Yogi Bear
The Yogi Bear Eastern Series first appeared on the Huckleberry Hound Show in November 1958.The first voice of Yogi was Daws Butler. The main character designer was Ed Benedict, while Bill Hanna and Joe Barbera directed . On January 30, 1961, the "Yogi Bear Show" finally appeared. Other characters were Yogi's friend "Boo-Boo", his girlfriend " Cindy Bear", and Jellystone Park ranger, "Ranger Smith." Yogi's life consists of searching for food in Jellystone Park. The show ended in 1991. It was one of the most popular TV. shows. It is now all reruns. To find out more about Yogi and his pals go to http://home.concepts.nl/~lwmkeijs/bb008.htm
Winnie the
Pooh
Not long after her mother was killed, a young bear was found by a hunter and brought to White River, Ontario in Canada. Shortly after that, a veterinarian named Lt. Harry Colebourne saw her on his way to military camp in Winnipeg. He fell in love with this bear and soon found himself buying the bear for $20.00!
In 1914, Colebourne was ordered to serve England, but took a little bit of Canada with him. It was named Winnie ,the cub from Winnipeg. Winnie went everywhere Colebourne did. When Harry was going to be sent to France, he had to leave Winnie behind. She was placed in the London Zoo.
In 1919 Colebourne returned to get her back, but found that everyone loved her so much. He decided to keep her there. One boy really liked her. His name was Christopher Robin Milne. He got a teddy bear for his birthday and named it "Winnie the Pooh." He later got a stuffed donkey and then a stuffed pig. These toys and an owl and rabbit (made up later) became the basis of a story. Tigger, Kanga, and Roo were also soon added on. In 1928, Christopher's father, A.A. Milne, published Winnie the Pooh with Christopher Robin and his "friends" as the characters.
Although the story of Winnie the Pooh is over 70 years old, it is still a timeless classic. People around the world still like the bear, Winnie the Pooh. They now have many more books, movies, and TV shows. Check this website out for more "Pooh" fun and information: http://www.pooh-corner.com/
The
Berenstain Bears 
Stan and Jan Berenstain were both born in 1923. This husband and wife team wrote famous children's books. It all started in 1956 and went through 1990. Jan and Stan did a cartoon feature for McCall's/Good Housekeeping Magazine called "It's All In The Family". In this cartoon, the family was about people instead of bears. In the early 60's when their sons Leo and Mike were beginning to read, they got the idea to create Beginners Books featuring a funny family that would help kids learn to read at the same time. Their first book was called The Big Honey Hunt. It was about a family of three bears. They were Mama Bear, Papa Bear, and Brother Bear. Later, in 1974 Sister Bear was introduced to the family because the authors wanted to tell the story of a new baby. They were all a happy family living in a "split-level tree."
Between 1979 and 1983 there were many Berenstain TV specials. Then, from 1985 through 1987 it became a Saturday morning cartoon on CBS. There were over 40 cartoon episodes! Later, many episodes were made into videos and some are still available.
Many people still adore these bears. They are wonderful children's books and kids love them. To learn more about these bears go to http://villa.lakes.com/mariska/bears/mem/video.html