BEAR FACTS LIBRARY
Some of my favorite books in the Berenstain Bears series are the “Bear Facts” library, consisting of Almanac (1973), Nature Guide (1975), and Science Fair (1997). These are large, fact-filled, and intricately illustrated (think Richard Scarry books like “Cars and Trucks and Things that Go”). They are also educational! (All of these books were published or licensed by Random House, except the later version of “Big Book of Science and Nature” published by Dover.)
There are a LOT of different editions of these books, and I decided to gather all of mine together to help you distinguish between the different printings and editions, if you’re a “completist” like me.
Generally speaking there are five different “sets” of these books.
- Original commercial editions in hardcover format
- Original commercial editions in paperback format
- Book Club editions in hardcover
- Book Club editions in paperback
- The “bind-up” collections: “Science and Nature Super Treasury” and “Big Book of Science and Nature”
Read below for details about all of these books and how to easily identify them.
Group 1 (Original commercial editions in hardcover format)
AS FAR AS I KNOW, there are two versions of Almanac and Nature Guide, and only one of Science Fair.
For Almanac, the original edition is easy to spot because it was originally issued in the “Beginner Books” series. The later edition carries the later “Bear Facts Library” logo (the back cover of the later edition also has the famous Knickerbocker plush dolls photograph, while the original edition is blank green.)
For Nature Guide, the original edition advertises The Bears Almanac and the later edition has the famous Knickerbocker plush dolls photograph.
The only hardcover edition of Science Fair has the Knickerbocker plush toy photograph background. It should be noted that the Knickerbocker plush dolls were also released in 1977. So, it stands to reason that the “new” editions of Almanac and Nature Guide also came out in 1977, since they all have the same back cover.
Group 2 (Original commercial editions in paperback format, 1984)
The paperback editions do not carry the “Bear Facts Library” logo and the font of the titles has been changed/simplified. These all came out in 1984. The back covers advertise all three books in the series and have the Bear Facts Library logo. They have barcodes, ISBN numbers, and prices (first printings will list the suggested retail price of $3.95).
Group 3 (Book Club editions in hardcover) (photos above)
AS FAR AS I KNOW, there is only one hardcover book club edition of Almanac, one of Nature Guide (the famous smaller sized edition with the blue border), and two of Science Fair. One edition of Science Fair “matches” the style of Almanac, advertising the Bear Facts library (like the paperback versions), and one matches the back of the Nature Guide, featuring the Knickerbocker plush dolls. These also carry the imprint “Children’s Choice Book Club, A Scholastic Book Service.”
Group 4 (Book Club editions in paperback)
AS FAR AS I KNOW, there is only one paperback book club edition of all three books. These look almost identical to the commercial paperback editions, but on the reverse, instead of a barcode, simply have an ISBN number. (I am still missing the “Almanac” version of this series, so you can see in the photograph below, I substitute a commercial edition with a barcode).
Group 5 (Bind-ups)
Along with the re-release of the original three titles in paperback edition in 1984, a bind-up called the “Science and Nature Super Treasury” was also released. It uses the same cover illustration as Nature Guide so the two can be confused at first glance. This book contains the full contents of all three Bear Facts Library books.
The Science & Nature Super Treasury was re-released in 1997 under the title “Big Book of Science and Nature.” It has an updated cover but the contents are the same (the complete text of all three Bear Facts Library books).
A new edition of “Big Book of Science and Nature” was published by Dover in 2013. The cover design is nearly identical to the 1997 version and it too contains the full version of all three Bear Facts Library books.
All told, this means there are at least 18 U.S. editions of these books, but I wouldn’t be surprised if I’m missing one or two (probably slight Book Club variants).
I also know that there are UK/British English editions of all three of these books, but I haven’t collected them yet. They carry the “Collins” imprint. The titles and covers appear virtually identical, but spelling within the books is likely to use British English.
Berenstain Bears Bibliography & Blog 