Little Bear is a series of children's books, primarily involving the interaction of Little Bear (a small cub) and Mother Bear (Little Bear's Mother), and the yearning he has for his father who is a ship's captain and absent for long periods. The first book in the series was published in 1957, written by Else Holmelund Minarik and illustrated by Maurice Sendak. Initially the stories were simple, but eventually became more sophisticated in subsequent books as the plot and characters expanded.