Berenstain Bears Bibliography & Blog

Fisher-Price (1982) / Lederle (1983)

This design was released by Fisher-Price in 1982, then also licensed by Lederle Biologicals the following year. The Fisher-Price toys were sold in stores, but the Lederle plush toys were distributed to doctors nationwide – providing comfort to kids of all ages in waiting rooms across the country.

In fact, Lederle also produced a variety of other products that were also distributed to doctors; like the sticker shown below, given to kids after getting their shots!

Knickerbocker (1977)

Released in 1977, the Knickerbocker family of plush toys was the very first stuffed Bear Family! In fact, you can see the earlier style of the Berenstain Bears … with their taller, skinnier bodies and longer snouts. Of course, they’re wearing their distinctive outfits – some things never change!

Chosun (1993-1998)

This was the largest “run” of Berenstain Bears plush toys. Even in the year 2022, you can still find hundreds of these items on the secondary market (just do a quick search of any site like eBay, Etsy, or Mercari). The Chosun plush toys were released in at least two sizes between 1993 and 1997. They were also the design used by GT Publishing in the combo packs seen below.

GT Publishing (1997) (same design as Chosun)

These book-and-plush combination gift sets utilized the “small” size of the Chosun stuffies listed above. They were released in 1997.

Chosun – Go Shopping Edition (1994)

Probably the most “infamous” of the Berenstain Bears plush toys, these stuffed animals are hard to value because of their extremely unique and rare nature. They were bundled with a new book, “Go Shopping,” in which the Bear Family goes shopping for a new wardrobe. As such, the book was bundled in two editions – one with the Bear Family’s special “Go Shopping” wardrobe (see pic at right/below). This is the series that is so rare!

Chosun Zipper Pulls / Keychains (1997)

Signature Superstars Highlights (1999)

These small beanie-style toys were produced during the Beanie Babies craze of the late 1990s. Like Beanie Babies themselves, these toys were snatched up quickly in the hopes of having great value later. And in the case of the Berenstain Bears, these are actually both rare and valuable today, since they were produced in much smaller quantities than their mainline name-brand counterparts. Plus, they’re super cute!

Cedar Fair / Cedar Point (1990s)

The worst plus “Berenstain Bears” family ever! They don’t even look like bears… they look more like … moles!?

We don’t know for sure who actually made these plush toys, but this series was exclusively sold at Cedar Fair amusement parks in the 1990s (Cedar Point, Valleyfair, Worlds of Fun, Dorney Park, etc.).

Cedar Fair had “Berenstain Bear Country” branded sections of their parks and sold a variety of exclusive merchandise.

Judging by how much things cost at amusement parks – and how these items don’t look at all like the actual Berenstain Bears – people were getting ripped off.

Applause Holiday Edition (c. 1989)

We are almost certain this special winter/holiday-themed family is from 1989, as it shares the same design as the family below (as well as the same signature Applause logo that was popular in 1989. But the tags don’t indicate an actual date!

Applause (1989)

There were two sizes of this standard plush Bear Family produced by Applause in 1989. The “small” sizes range between 6″ and 10″, with the “large” size measuring 10″ to 12″.

Applause – Hand puppets, Zipper Pulls, Backpacks, etc. (1989-1996)

Plush hand puppets were produced in both 1989 and 1996. And in the 1996 edition, Applause also made zipper pulls and plush miniature backpacks! Very cool, especially seeing the significant design change between the two editions’ facial styles.

Wildkin Zipper Pulls / Keychains (1999)

We don’t know a lot about these zipper pulls / keychains but these are about the same size as Beanie Babies – and released during the height of that craze – so this appears to be another off-brand marketing attempt by the Berenstains to cash in on the craze (and don’t forget their book, “Mad Mad Mad Toy Craze”).

Applause – miniature posables, including “Go to Camp” edition (c. 2000)

These are really cool miniature plush toys that are bendable (“poseable”) arms and legs! Very cool!

Emotions (by Mattel) (1984)

This family wins the “creepiest plush toy” award! The hard plastic faces, crazy eyes, and Papa’s teeth make this a stuffed animal you probably do NOT want to sleep with!

Definitely “Chucky” vibes from these, though it is important to point out that these came out four years prior to the original “Child’s Play” movie (but this is also the toy doll style that was popular in the 80s on which “Chucky” was clearly based.)

Emotions (by Mattel) (1984)

Here’s the same bear family as seen above, but with fully plush heads instead of plastic.

Each family member is also holding an accessory (for example Papa has an axe, Brother has a frog, etc.).

Oh yeah, they also changed Mama’s hat!

Chosun – Christmas Eve edition (1996)

Mama and Papa in special “Christmas Eve” outfits!

Creative Kids (2008)

When Build-a-Bear Workshop hype was at its peak in the 2000s, the Berenstain Bears entered the market with their own “off brand” version of a create-your-own Bear Family. These made great gifts and the plush toys themselves were very soft and huggable.

Once stuffed, the design is virtually the same as the Kelly Toy seen below.

Kelly Toy (2003-2005)

The Kelly Toy stuffed animals were produced in at least three sizes in the early- to mid-2000s, and are basically identical to the style used in the Creative Kids edition that came out in 2008.

These are especially ‘floppy’ plush toys that are great for cuddling.

Cottage Garden (c. 1990s, exact date unknown)

We love this family of plushies but don’t really know much about them. Their tush tags don’t have copyright dates on them, but based on their appearance, we believe they are from the mid- to late-1990s. We also can’t find much info about Cottage Garden plush toys in general. Regardless, this is a cute set and quite rare!

Nelvana / PBS Kids (2013)

These special edition plush toys were exclusive to Walmart & Sam’s Club stores and were bundled with DVDs featuring episodes of the 2003-2004 animated TV series.

Kohl’s Cares (2020)

The Kohls Cares Collection is a specially licensed series of items from which 100% of all profits, according to Kohls, “is given to support the health and wellness of families in our communities.”

In addition to the Brother Bear plush, Kohls Cares also released special editions of the books “Messy Room”, “Meet Santa Bear,” and “Inside Outside Upside Down.”

Each item sold for $5.