The Berenstain Bears' Trouble at School

The Berenstain Bears

by Stan Berenstain, Jan Berenstain

Get ready to go back to school with the Berenstain Bears! This story is a perfect way to teach children about responsibility and the importance of doing your schoolwork--with over 50 bonus stickers that make a great reward for tests and homework!

Come for a visit in Bear Country with this classic storybook from Stan and Jan Berenstain.  Brother isn’t doing his schoolwork, and it’s starting to catch up with him. Now that he got a bad grade on his quiz, how is he going to tell Mama and Papa?

Genres: Childrens, Picture Books, Fiction, School, Animals, Kids, Juvenile

32 pages, Paperback

First published August 1, 1987

About the author

Stan and Jan Berenstain (often called The Berenstains) were American writers and illustrators best known for creating the children's book series the Berenstain Bears. Their son Mike Berenstain joined them as a creative team in the late 1980s.

Reviews

[Calista · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sometimes the best way out of a mess is to stop and ask for help. Brother bear is sick one day from school and has a grand day, but it costs him. Getting back into things leaves him behind. He skips school the next day and luckily he finds is grandparents who help him dig out of his hole and get things back on track.

The nephew likes the bears. He also likes to stay home from school. I don’t think this story rubbed off on him too much.

80s Bears are so good.

[Brittany Messer · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read the book, "The Berenstain Bears' Trouble at School" by Stan Berenstatin. This is a great book to teach children a lesson on cheating and earning good grades. Primary children will learn the consequences of cheating and what will happen when your grades start to fall. This is a great story for Primary children to read because at some point in time a child is going to want to cheat on a test or either on homework and this story will hopefully make them think twice about cheating. I love all the details the illustrations depict; they make you feel as you are a character in the story. These are great learning tools to use in my classroom to teach children all kind of life lessons. All children should be required to read this series as a child to help them gain valuable life lessons in their future to come.

[Amy the book-bat · Rating 3 out of 5]

This cute story follows Brother as he catches cold and misses school, then doesn't study and fails a quiz. From here there is more trouble for Brother. The lesson at the end is a good one and young readers are sure to love the bears.

[Monica Gearhart · Rating 5 out of 5]

Cute story. Brings back memories from reading them as a kid. 😄

[Katt Hansen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Brother Bear misses some school due to being sick and things quietly escalate when he gets back.

I remember this feeling so very well. I got sick a lot as a child, and going back was terrible as I was always so far behind, even if homework had been sent home to complete. Brother Bear needs the quiet wisdom of Grizzley Gramps to help him through all this mess. Not a bad book, but instead very real about things that kids will understand easily. Probably one of the better books in the series.

[Megan Sewell · Rating 5 out of 5]

These books are great for families trying to teach children valuable life lessons, for phone calls home, and of course bad grades, great book to help kids understand that they have to behave and do homeowrk, study etc.

[Kelly Kosinski · Rating 5 out of 5]

Who didn’t dread showing a poor report card to mom and dad??

[China Harris · Rating 5 out of 5]

Trouble At School is about the time Brother Bear caught a cold and stayed in from school. He was supposed to study and do his school work so that he wouldn't be behind in his classes. Instead of doing his work, he decided to play video games and watch tv. The next week that Brother bears went back to school, he had to take a test that he neglected to study for. He receives a poor grade and now he must figure out how to tell Papa and Mama bear. His parents aren't very happy, but his mom tells him that it is never too late to correct a mistake. Brother bear is allowed to retake his test, and finally receives a good grade!

This book includes a significant amount of colorful pictures that affectively add to the story. Each one multiple settings that include nicely rendered details. This story very relatable and also reminds me of the time that I received a bad grade in elementary school. I was terrified of what my parents would say too.

My favorite quote from the story is "It's never too late to correct a mistake" (p. 22). I agree with this statement! This teaches children that there are opportunities for second chances. It also teaches them that giving up is not the way to go.

I gave this book five starts because it is a perfect way to teach children life lessons about responsibility and the importance of doing your schoolwork. I see this book being used at school and at home because this these same settings are apart of the storyline. I also believe Trouble At School will help to prepare young kids who have not yet started school, or kids who who need to be more responsible with their school work.

[Demi Burns · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Berenstain Bears' Trouble at School: Brother bear comes home from school one day with the cold, causing him to wheeze and sneeze. Mother bear takes his temperature, puts him to bed and calls in Dr. Grizzly. Drl Grizzly tells Momma to not let Brother out of bed until his fever goes down, for he needs plenty of rest and lots of juice. Brother is basically living the life; Momma bear makes Papa bring up a t.v. just for Brother bear, as well as his comics, and his dinosaur collection. The next day Sister bear brings home Brother bear's make up work, but Brother just tosses it aside because he is having too much fun. Unbeknownst to Brother, his teacher Mr. Bob is teaching new concepts in math. When Brother returns to class, he discovers the consequences of neglecting his responsibilities: he fails his division test. Grizzly Gramps helps Brother learn that it’s never too late to correct a mistake.
The Berenstain Bears were always popular books in my elementary library when I was a kid. The books can always teach valuable lessons. This story for instance is to remember not to abandon important responsibilities, though there is always time to make up for mistakes.

[Slow Man · Rating 5 out of 5]

It’s never too late to correct a mistake.

I like this one. If they have a self-help section in the children’s corner, this will be on that shelf. When you think about it, aren’t all these books help the children to help themselves? Oh dear, reading is really about helping ourselves too. But I wish I could use a more positive tone to say that. See, I am doing it again.

[Nicole · Rating 5 out of 5]

This particular book in the series was my favorite because I didn’t like school. At all. But this book helped me through difficult times as a child.

[Kelly]

Read this with my daughter. She enjoys these and I like the lesson in this one.

[Tanya Bornstein · Rating 4 out of 5]

The bernstein bears was always one of my favorites mainly because my last name is bornstein and I felt apart of the books. This book is great for children who have a little trouble with school. Some children need a bit of extra help and this is a great book for the child to know that it is okay to ask for help when needed.

Jan and Stan Berenstain:
Jan Berenstain and her husband, Stan, published their first Berenstain Bears book in 1962. Three hundred titles about the family of bears that deal with everyday problems appeared, as well as videos and TV shows. Jan was 88 when she died Friday after a stroke in Solebury, Pa. The Berenstain Bears books have offered parents and their young children guidance, comfort and old-fashioned humor about perennial issues such as fear of the dentist, dealing with bullies and resolving sibling rivalries since the first book was published 50 years ago.

[Megan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Genre: Picture Book
Audience: K-4th
Topic: School Problems
Theme: Making changes to be on the right path in life
Curricular Uses: Read Aloud, Independent Reading
Reading Level: Late Transitional
Literary Elements: Dialogue, Repetition, Rhyme
Illustrations: Detailed illustrations support the text and help express the emotions of the characters. Helpful to readers because of the long texts on each page.
These books always send great messages to young readers. There is always a moral on the first page of the book that rhymes. Would definitely use any of the Berenstain Bear books in the classroom to introduce a variety of topics

[Chuck Ramsey · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Berenstain Bears Trouble at School was one of the few books I never read as a kid. I picked this up and read it and was actually shocked by how deep the meaning was behind it. The little kid bear was sick for a handful of days and missed out on his homework. The work was given to him but he decided he didnt want to do it. This ended up getting him in trouble and having certain consequences at home. A lot of children's books never really show the main characters breaking some kind of rule and if they did it was never anything major. In this book it showed the harsh reality of skipping on school work and what your parents will do if they find out.

[Desiree Giroux · Rating 5 out of 5]

My son is 6 years old and I love that he loves the Berenstain Bears! He really seems to take to heart the different messages that each book provides. I really liked this particular book because my son has some behavioral issues at school and though this book focuses on academic troubles...it helps show that you can overcome problems at school, start again and do better. I also really enjoyed that Brother Bear went to his grandparents for advice, and that they were able to help him by sharing problems that they had dealt with in the past.

[Shayla Stevens]

The Berenstain Bears books are about a family of bears and the challenges they face during their daily lives. The themes in each book are relevant to not only students and teachers, but also to parents. In this book, Brother Bear falls behind on his school work because he was absent due to illness and failed to complete his make up work. Many students have experienced this themselves, so they understand how Brother Bear feels and maybe they handled it differently, so it teaches them about perspective and options.

[Karsyn Konecny · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is about a young bear named bother bear who gets sick and has to miss school. He stays at home and while he's sick with a cold and plays with dinosaurs and watches TV but at the end of the day his sister brings home a folder full of school work to do. Brother bear doesn't do the schoolwork and ends up faling a quiz and having to get a paper signed by parents. I liked this book because it shows children responsibility and what to do if they miss school or if they are sick. The audience for this book would be a first grade class. This is a great book to use in the classroom!

[Jenna Spinazzola · Rating 5 out of 5]

genre: picture book

audience: k - 4th

topic: school problems

theme: making changes to be on the correct path in life

curricular uses: read aloud, independent reading

reading level: late transitional

literary elements: dialogue, repetition, rhyme

illustrations: support the text, cute and creative, help express the emotions of the character, also helpful to the reader because there are many words to one page.

[↜ƈɦǟռ☂ɛℓℓɛ↝ · Rating 4 out of 5]

★★★★The Berenstain Bears' Trouble at school by Stan and Jan Berenstain
Oh, no. Brother Bear is sick and can not go to school. His school work is sent home so he will not get behind, but he decides not to do it. So when he gets back to school, he doesn't know division and fails his test.
The lesson to the one is a few days of slacking off, while it might be fun, you will regret in the end. It is better to do a small amount a day, than all of your work at once.

[Chris · Rating 5 out of 5]

It was a very enjoyable Berenstain Bear book. It had very well done illustrations, great characters and a interesting storyline. I read this book in a long time. What I really like about this book was when Brother Bear retested the division quiz and played the soccer game. I'd recommend this book to Berenstain Bears fans.

[Rosalie Mahler · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is wonderful for young students because it shows them the importance of keeping up with their school work and always trying their best even if they are sick. This book can be used in the classroom if many students are consistently missing assignments. It can be used as a model to show the consequences for this behavior.

[angrykitty · Rating 4 out of 5]

we were promised this book if we did well on our report cards. we did, and we got the book. boo-yah. i don't think we ever saw the irony that we were being rewarded with books and not money or candy.....

[Mallory White · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book to show your students that they have responsibilities. It also shows that your mistakes will lead to consequences. Not studying for your test means you might fail when you take it. It also shows that it is never to late to fix a mistake or get on the right track.

[Erica · Rating 5 out of 5]

Also a classic.

[Karen · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved reading the Berenstain Bears to my kids. The stories are great and the illustrations are fun.

[Dimps · Rating 4 out of 5]

One of my childhood favorites. :)

[Jessica · Rating 5 out of 5]

I enjoy Beranstain's approach to dealing with trouble. Might be considered naive, but considering the audience, it is quite appropriate.

[Sally · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was never sick from primary school for long enough to be given "make-up work"... nor did we even have homework, really! So this was one of my intriductions to strange American ideas :P

[Mandy Groover · Rating 5 out of 5]

this book might encourage students to do well in school.