Else Holmelund Minarik

Else Holmelund Minarik (née Holmelund; September 13, 1920 – July 12, 2012) was an American author of more than 40 children's books. She was most commonly associated with her Little Bear series of children's books, which were adapted for television. Minarik was also the author of No Fighting, No Biting!

Biography Born in Fredericia, Denmark, Minarik immigrated to the United States at the age of four with her family. As a young child in Denmark, she was introduced to the stories of Hans Christian Andersen. By 1940, Else had married Walter Minarik, who died in 1963.

She later lived in West Nottingham, New Hampshire. Minarik married her second husband, Pulitzer-winning journalist Homer Bigart, in 1970;

Minarik's last book, Little Bear and the Marco Polo, was published in 2010. After having suffered a heart attack at 91, she died at home from complications, on July 12, 2012, at the age of 91

Selected bibliography Little Bear series (all original books illustrated by Maurice Sendak, except for the last entry): Little Bear (1957) Father Bear Comes Home (1959) Little Bear's Friend (1960) Little Bear's Visit (1961) A Kiss for Little Bear (1968) Little Bear and the Marco Polo (2010) – illustrated by Dorothy Doubleday Percy and the Five Houses (1989) – illustrated by James Stevenson