Martine Beck

Martine Beck (born 1947) is a French psychotherapist, as well as an author of picture books and other children's literature. Beck is a lifelong citizen of Paris, her city of birth. She studied child psychology and French literature at the University of Paris.Perhaps her most commercially successful books are Le Mariage d'Ours Brun et d'Ourse Blanche (1989), Ours Brun et Ourse Blanche sous l'avalanche (1990), and Balibar et les oursonnes (1991). They tell a story of two lonely bears, Brown Bear and White Bear, who find each other, marry, and have a son: Balibar. But when they have twins, Balibar feels abandoned.

These books, illustrated by Marie H. Henry, have been translated into English as The Wedding of Brown Bear and White Bear (1990), The Rescue of Brown Bear and White Bear (1991), and Benjamin and the Bear Twins (1992), respectively. Her books have also been translated into German, Chinese, Japanese, and Greek.

FilmFair adapted the Brown Bear and White Bear stories into two animated television films (Brown Bear's Wedding and White Bear's Secret), with screenplays by Barbara Slade.