Stan and Jan Berenstain were both born in 1923 in Philadelphia. They didn't know each other as children, but met later at school, at the Philadelphia College of Art. They liked each other right away, and found out that the both enjoyed the same kinds of books, plays, music and art. During World War II, Stan was a medical assistant in the Army, and Jan worked in an airplane factory. When the war was over, they got married and began to work together as artists and writers, primarily drawing cartoons for popular magazines. After having their two sons Leo and Michael, the Berenstains decided to write some funny children's books that their children and other children could read and enjoy. Their first published children's book was called The Big Honey Hunt . It was about a family of bears, who later became known as the "Berenstain Bears".

Over 50 children's books later, Stan and Jan still plan all of their books together -- both write the stories, and both write the pictures. They live outside of Philadelphia in the country.

This Step 1 Step into Reading Math Reader offers a hilarious and unique approach to addition and subtraction, courtesy of the Berenstains. Bears on wheels--unicycles, bikes, and trikes--gradually increase in number, engaging in silly antics that will make beginning readers giggle as they also learn beginning math skills. Step 1 Readers feature big type and easy words for children who know the alphabet and are eager to begin reading. Rhymes and rhythmic text, paired with picture clues, help children decode the story.

Over the course of fifty years, Stan and Jan Berenstain wrote and illustrated hundreds of books about the Berenstain Bears in dozens of formats, from board books to beginning readers. Some of the most enduring are the stories in the groundbreaking Bright and Early Books and Beginner Books series.

Publisher: Random House Books for Young Readers

Pub date: 2014-07-22

Length: 32 pages