Down a Sunny Dirt Road: An Autobiography

By Stan Berenstain and Jan Berenstain

Book Overview

Once upon a time, in Mrs. Sweeney's first year drawing class at the Philadelphia Museum School of Industrial Art, a "lantern-jawed exotic" named Stan admired the drawing of a brown-haired, blue-eyed... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0375814035
• ISBN13: 9780375814037
• Release Date: September 2002
• Publisher: Random House Books for Young Readers
• Length: 208 Pages
• Weight: 1.84 lbs.
• Dimensions: 10.3" x 0.8" x 8.2"
• Age Range: 12 years and up
• Grade Range: Grade 7

Customer Reviews

I loved it

I really enjoyed this book. It was very easy to read, and interesting. The drawings are also wonderful. I learned a lot about Stan & Jan but also about the times in which they grew up, WWII, Dr.Seuss and much more! I highly recommend this to any Berenstain Bears lover or teacher doing author studies in his/her classroom (which is what I used it for)!

Written for a teen or adult

I've very much enjoyed this book, but it was on the booklist for my 4th grader's memoir project and we ended up having to choose it just based on reviews here. It is definitely not written for a child or even to be read to a child. The book moves rather quickly through their depression-era childhood, mentions atrocities to Jews before WWII and Stan's experiences as an enlisted man in the war, before moving on to their careers in publishing. The book is fascinating and well-written, but the language and events are complex, requiring several stops on every page to provide background knowledge to my 4th grader. She reads well above grade level, but she doesn't know much about 20th century history. In the end, I just previewed the book and then paraphrased the events that were important.

A Behind-the-Scenes Look At Two Best-selling Children's Authors and Illustrators

As a parent, I remember curling up with my sons and reading the adventure of the Berenstain Bears. The illustrations and the stories were always well-crafted. But how did this couple which has sold millions of children's books begin on their journey to publication? You will learn about their early life and how they met and married. I found it fascinating about how they moved from illustration work into children's books. In a true behind-the-scenes look, you will learn about their first meeting with Theodor Geisel (aka Dr. Seuss), who was the editor-in-chief of Random House's Beginner Books. I recommend anyone interested in children's writing or children's book illustration would profit from reading this book. It is excellent. I ranked it at four-stars for a reason: the book is a misfit in some ways. It appears like a children's book because it includes Berenstain illustrations combined with family photos and an oversized design. It doesn't easily fall into the autobiographical section of a bookstore nor does it fit into the children's book section. Even with these cautions, I loved this book and learned a great deal from it and recommend it to others.

Will reach entire families with its warm story

This autobiography of the romance between Stan and Jan Berenstain which led to not only a marriage of love but a marriage of businesses reveals how the two artists created the Berenstain Bears and other popular works for children. Packaged so as to appeal into the elementary grade levels, yet in depth enough for adult pursuit, this autobiography will reach entire families with its warm story of the creation of the Bears, with color and black and white drawings and sketches throughout.

a must for any preteen interested in drawing or the bears

an extremely funny autobiography geared to pre-teens and others, about growing up in Philly during the Depression and WWII, and becoming artists, illustrators, and acclaimed authors of forty years worth of childrens books. Contains cartoon illustrations on nearly every other page. STan recounts how he was sent to a "one eyed battalion" at Fort Bragg during WWII, and eventually made it into ASTP at The University of Maine, while Jan became an aircraft riveter during the War. After VE Day, the couple married, raised a family and became illustrators. In 1962, they published their first childrens book, and the rest is history. I recommend it to any child with a flare for and interest in drawing and cartooning.