Sad news for the many generations who grew up reading Berenstain Bears books: Jan Berenstain, who co-authored and illustrated the books with her husband, Stan, has died. The Associated Press reports that the 88-year-old Berenstain passed away Friday after suffering a stroke on Thursday. Her career spanned half a century and produced over 300 books that have been translated into 23 languages and sold over 260 million copies. Inspired by the Berenstains’ own family, the stories have tackled everything from messy rooms and slumber parties to, in 2010, computer trouble. After Stan’s death in 2005, Jan continued to work on the books with her son, Mike, an illustrator, who plans to carry on the series now that both of his parents are gone.
Although we haven’t paged through a Berenstain Bears book in a few decades, we loved them as kids, and are deeply saddened to hear about Jan Berenstain. The best way we can think of to pay tribute to her is to recall our childhood favorite from the series: The Berenstain Bears Trick or Treat. Add yours in the comments. [via Pop Culture Brain]