All about Bill Martin Jr & Eric Carle’s Bears

The history of Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See? begins over forty years ago when Bill Martin Jr. heard the phrase, “Brown Bear, Brown Bear, what do you see?” pop into his head as he was riding the train from Long Island into Penn Station in New York City. He completed the rhythmic poem once he got off the train, and wrote it down so that he could include it in a textbook he was anthologizing. While sitting in a doctor’s waiting room, he was struck by an illustration of a red lobster featured in a magazine advertisement created by Eric Carle, and contacted him to illustrate this story he had written. Bill hoped that his playful words and Eric’s bold pictures would do more to encourage children to read than the formulas they were usually given. He was right. Not only did this mark the first collaboration between two children’s literary giants, but the beginning of Mr. Carle’s well-known career.

Brown Bear was published in 1967 and originally sold directly to classrooms. But over the years, Holt received more and more requests from teachers to sell it as a regular trade edition to the public. It was because of the volume of these requests that a trade edition of the book was published in 1976. It soon became one of the most beloved children’s books in the country, and the signature Henry Holt Books for Young Readers title.

To celebrate Brown Bear’s 25th birthday, Eric Carle created all new artwork that gave the books a cleaner and brighter look, and showcased what had since become his signature style of strong, graphic illustration. At the same time, the two artists worked together to create Polar Bear, Polar Bear, What Do You Hear? Where Brown Bear had introduced children to colors and seeing; this new collaboration opened up a world of sound and hearing. Thirty-five years after their first groundbreaking collaboration, the team reunited to address animal conservation with Panda Bear, Panda Bear, What Do You See?, a topic very important to both Bill and Eric.

After 40 years and over 11 million copies of the bear books in print, Henry Holt Books for Young Readers is proud to present the final collaboration from this bestselling author-illustrator team: Baby Bear, Baby Bear, What Do You See?. Bill’s original text for Brown Bear had featured a mother at the end of the story, but as teachers embraced the book in their classrooms, and Bill the teachers’ enthusiasm, the mother was replaced with a teacher. In thinking about writing Baby Bear, Bill decided that it would be a fitting tribute to Brown Bear to return to the original ending. But this time, he would begin it with a baby bear that sets out to find its Mama, for Bill knew that young readers would identify with Baby Bear’s all-important quest. Finally, in an homage to the land that both he and Eric loved, this book featured all native North American animals. The dual focus-on the special bond between mothers and children of any species, and the celebration of Mother Nature-is a fitting finale to a beloved series. It takes a master artist to leave a lasting legacy, and these four deceptively simple books were created by two of the brightest and the best: Eric Carle and Bill Martin Jr.