Tajja Isen :: Character Guides

Though Sister Bear didn’t come along until The New Baby (1973) (we received hundreds of letters from little girls saying, “Why don’t you have a girl bear?”). She quickly became a lively and significant contributor to the Bear Family saga.
A spirited, sprightly, spunky third grader (Brother is a fifth grader), Sister was a worthy and interesting protagonist is such titles as The Bad Habit (1986), The In-Crowd (1989), and Slumber Party (1990) as well as co-protagonist with older Brother Bear in most series titles.
Though the term “feminist” is not part of her vocabulary, she is quick to respond to any gender slight or stereotyping. She is an equal-opportunity competitor who can outrun, out-jump, and out-climb most boys her own age. Not one to hide her light under a bushel, she can’t quite understand why boys get so huffy when she outperforms them (see No Girls Allowed (1986).
Though Sister is outgoing, outdoorsy and sports-minded (she is an excellent second base-person – see Go Out for the Team (1986) – and can give Brother Bear a pretty fair game of one-on-one soccer), she is equally at home giving tea parties for her stuffed animals and cosseting her beloved collection of Bearbie Dolls.
Sister is a pretty good student, strong in reading and writing but somewhat less so in number work. An avid reader, she is especially fond of fairytales – Goldibear, Little Red Riding Bear are her favorites – but eschews the spooky-type mysteries Brother prefers.
While Sister may not be interested in boys per se she is nevertheless a careful counter of the number of valentines she receives on Valentines Day and takes special note of how many say S.W.A.K..
Sister is an inveterate rope-jumper, hopscotcher, and jacks player and is the best double-dutcher in her set. She always has her red-handled jump rope handy. One of her goals in life is to jump to a thousand. Her jacks goal is to reach tensies.