This year the Berenstain Bears will celebrate their 50th birthday.

Since the publication of The Big Honey Hunt in 1962, 300-plus books have been written and more than 250 million copies sold of the best-selling children’s book series.

Brand owner Nelvana Enterprises is currently in discussions with potential licensing and retail partners for opportunities to celebrate this historic milestone. Nelvana has also produced 40 episodes of an animated TV series featuring the Bear family.

Both Random House Children’s Books and HarperCollins Children’s Books continue to publish new books in the Berenstain Bears series, and are working together to mark the 50th anniversary. 

In July, Random House will re-issue a special anniversary edition of The Big Honey Hunt, as well as The Berenstain Bears: All in the Family, a bind-up of six titles. 

HarperCollins will publish 19 new titles this year, including Nothing Ever Happens at the South Pole, which will be released in August.

“There is no family quite like the Bears, who have become a true American institution, and we are excited at all of the possibilities that this milestone anniversary presents,” says Andrew Kerr, head of consumer products for the Americas and Australasia, Nelvana Enterprises. 

Nelvana Enterprises will be presenting the Berenstain Bears in Booth 6132 at Licensing Expo, June 12-14 in Las Vegas, Nev.