Throughout its history, the Berenstain Bears books all follow a basic formula, as stated by the Berenstains: "Papa sets out to instruct Small Bear in some aspect of the art of living and ends up badly the worse for wear, with Small Bear expressing his appreciation for the fine lesson Papa has taught him." The Bear family originally consisted of Mama Bear, Papa Bear, and Brother Bear, who was known as 'Small Bear at the time. Mama gave birth to her first daughter, Sister Bear, in the 1974 book The Berenstain Bears' New Baby. Sister became the Bear family's only daughter until 26 years later, Mama would become pregnant in the book The Birds, the Bees, and the Berenstain Bears. In the book The Berenstain Bears and Baby Makes Five, which was also published in 2000, Mama give birth to Honey Bear, the second daughter of the Bear family. A majority of the issues that the Berenstain Bears face are similar to what children go through such as bullying, visiting the doctor, getting into fights with loved ones, obesity, and throwing tantrums. The Berenstains used their family experiences as inspiration for the books, with Stan credited for their continued relevance: "Kids still tell fibs and they mess up their rooms and they still throw tantrums in the supermarket ... Nobody gets shot. No violence. There are problems, but they're the kind of typical family problems everyone goes through."