Little Bear (book series)

Little Bear is a series of children's picture books written by Else Holmelund Minarik that primarily involves Little Bear—an anthropomorphic bear cub—his mother and father, and his friends. Little Bear books have sold millions of copies and achieved multiple awards and recognitions, including a 1962 Caldecott Honor and a place on the ALA Notable Children's Books list and The New York Times Book Review's 1997 list of the best children's books of the previous fifty years.

The first book in the series, titled Little Bear, was published in 1957 by Harper and Brothers, now known as HarperCollins. It was the first entry in the I Can Read! series, a line of beginning reading books for children. Little Bear was followed by four sequels, published in 1959, 1960, 1961, and 1968. Collectively, the first five Little Bear books introduced Little Bear; his parents, Mother Bear and Father Bear; his animal friends, Cat, Duck, Hen, and Owl; Emily, a girl Little Bear meets and befriends; Little Bear's grandparents, Grandmother and Grandfather Bear; and some other friends, including two skunks.

The first five Little Bear books, illustrated by Maurice Sendak, were the basis for a TV series that culminated with a direct-to-video feature film titled The Little Bear Movie. The series was animated by the Canadian studio Nelvana and starred Kristin Fairlie as the voice of Little Bear.

From 2002 to 2004, twenty-eight new Little Bear books were published, authored by Minarik, based on episodes from the TV series, and illustrated by artists chosen by Sendak.