Michael Berenstain is an author and illustrator of children's books. He is the son of Stan and Jan Berenstain, creators of the popular Berenstain Bears series of picture books. Like Stan and Jan before him, Mike draws on his own experiences as a parent (and, now, grandparent) to inspire the family themes he writes about in books featuring the Berenstain Bears. He lives and works in the rolling countryside of Eastern Pennsylvania--a place that looks very much like Berenstain Bear Country. 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 360 Berenstain Bears books have been published, and more than 300 million copies have been sold.