Mama Bear

There are so many fictional moms that I love that it was hard for me to come up with one to write about for this post. But being that the majority of the books I read these days are to my kids, I decided I’d write about the first fictional mom that came to mind, and -- don’t laugh -- but it’s Mama Bear from the Berenstain Bears.

I was a big Berenstain Bears fan as a kid – maybe because I grew up in the same county where Stan and Jan Berenstain lived and wrote their books – but also because I loved Sister and Brother Bears’ adventures. I think I owned every single one of the books, and now my kids do, too. Also, they request that I read them. Repeatedly. Oh, and we watch the show, too!

But back to Mama Bear – I have to say there is no one more level-headed than she. She’s a great mom and she lets her kids and her husband learn their own lessons, while being kind, even-tempered, and an excellent sewer and honey-maker. In one of my favorite books – The Berenstain Bears and Mama’s New Job -- Mama starts her own quilting business and when her children get a little worried that she won’t have time for them, she teaches them that women can work, go after their passions, be entrepreneurs and still be a great mom.

Oh, and in the book where Sister Bear is born – The Berenstain Bears and the New Baby – which I read to my oldest son countless times when I was pregnant with my youngest – Mama Bear manages to pop out the new baby, regain her girlish figure, and get her new baby to sleep in the crib – all in the time it takes Papa and Brother Bear to go out in the woods and gather some timber for Brother’s new bed.

Seriously though, there is not a wiser mom I can think of in fiction. Or a mom with more passion, guts, love, life lessons, and kindness. And a cute little blue dress and matching hat to boot.