RIP Stan Berenstain

Stan Berenstain died at the age of 82.

My parents read my siblings and I many Berenstain Bear books growing up, and these books are still popular. At the Hudson Library, the Berenstain Bear books were some of our most popular kids books. And for our Holiday Book Donations at Barnes and Noble, the Berenstain Bears are some of the most requested books.

In more than 200 books, the Berenstain Bears, written and illustrated by Stan and Jan Berenstain, helped children for 40 years cope with trips to the dentist, eating junk food and cleaning their messy rooms.

The first Berenstain Bears book, "The Great Honey Hunt," was published in 1962. The couple developed the series with children's author Theodor Geisel -- better known as Dr. Seuss, then head of children's publishing at Random House -- with the goal of teaching children to read while entertaining them.