List of Care Bears books
| Author |
Various, including: Peggy Kahn (1980s, 1992) Bobbi Katz (1980s, 1991) Francis Ann Ladd (2000s) Quinlan B. Lee (2000s) Sonia Sander (2000s) |
|---|---|
| Illustrator |
Various, including: Tom Cooke (1980s) Carolyn Bracken (1980s) Bobbi Barto (1980s) Jay Johnson (2000s) Jeff Harter (2007–2008) |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Genre | Children's fiction |
| Publisher |
United States: Random House (1983–1992) Parker Brothers (1983–1985) Scholastic Books (2003–present) |
| Published | 1983–present |
Created in 1981 9.0 by the U.S. greeting card company American Greetings, the Care Bears are a group of characters that have appeared in various media. Since early 1983, various companies in the Americas, Europe and Israel have published books based on the franchise. In the United States, the Care Bears' books have been available through Random House, Parker Brothers and Scholastic Books.
Parker Brothers, a board game company then owned by General Mills, launched its book publishing division in February 1983; its first series consisted of six books featuring the Care Bears. Various authors contributed to the resulting series, Tales from the Care Bears; Tom Cooke illustrated most of the stories. At the time of publication, various trade publications took note of Parker Brothers' unique marketing strategy for the books. On October 30, 1987, Great Britain's Octopus Books released a book under this title (ISBN ), containing Amelia Hubert's Sweet Dreams for Sally and Evelyn Mason's A Sister for Sam.
Parker Brothers spent US$1 million in advertising on the original six-book series, which was made to promote the Care Bears characters. According to a company spokesperson, the stories would demonstrate "love, caring, dreams, happiness, friendship, wishes, and feelings". The series made its debut at the 1983 American International Toy Fair, along with other Care Bears products. John Keller, editorial director for the books, commented on their creation:
The old way was to give authors their head. We, on the other hand, make up a list of, say, thirty interesting plot ideas, and then we do consumer testing ... Once I have the rankings, I call up my pool of authors and give them a plot to work with, and a style sheet explaining the characters. And then I say, "Please write 2,500 words filled with verve and excitement."
In 1983, the U.S. publishing company Random House was granted paperback rights to books in the Care Bears franchise through American Greetings and General Mills, as Parker Brothers was unable to secure the exclusive publishing rights at the time. Bruce Jones, a Parker Brothers staffer, could not secure the exclusive publishing rights, and had to settle for a split license with Random House. During the mid-1980s, Dorsey Laboratories promoted its Triaminic cough medicine through a Random House publication, The Care Bears Help Chase Colds; this promotion helped sell over two million units of the product, along with a free copy of said book.
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