The Berenstain Bears Go to School

The Berenstain Bears

by Stan Berenstain, Jan Berenstain

Illus. in full color. A sympathetic story about Sister Bear, who conquers her fear of starting kindergarten.

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

32 pages, Paperback

First published July 1, 1978

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]

Berenstain Bears between 1977 and 1985 are the best stories. The art work is fantastic in this little gem and it is about the fear of starting something new. There is something magic in the art in this one. I think they put so much into this new series and it really shows.

My nephew is loving these books. My niece remembers them fondly too. Great stuff.

[Tracy Schillemore · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good first day of school prep book. I love that the Berenstain bears books always have a moral. Children can identify with brother and sisters experiences.

[chucklesthescot · Rating 3 out of 5]

Brother is getting bored with summer and looking forward to going back to school but Sister is nervous. This is her first time at school and she worries that she isn't going to enjoy it. But when she sees all the fun things that there are to do, she loves it. I remember starting primary school for the first time-I wasn't nervous at all, I was so excited to be there!

[Samantha Osborne · Rating 5 out of 5]

a cute story about the first day going to school

[Bridget Cabbiness · Rating 3 out of 5]

“The Berenstain Bears Go to School” by Stan and Jan Berenstain, is a picture book for children in the Nursery age group, ranging from birth to five years old. In this Berenstain adventure sister bear is nervous about starting school, but comes to find out she actually has fun in Kindergarten and enjoys going. I personally loved the Berenstain Bears as a child, I believe all their books have positive themes and deal with topics that children around that age are going through. In this book in particular sister bear is going through emotions before going to school, that I believe most children do. They don’t know what to expect and aren’t used to being away from home for the day, but I think this story may help elevate that fear in children, as they see sister bear having fun and enjoying school. I love the bear family and despite the fact that they’re bears, their family dynamic is something that most can relate to. I think the illustrations would draw younger readers in too, because the bears are dressed like and doing things that humans do. I think this would be a good story to read on the first day of school to help ease some of the anxiety some of the children might be feeling. Overall I enjoy the Berenstain Bears and this book as well as others in the series are great for teaching younger children relatable life lessons.

[Tessa Hensley · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is about Sister going to school for the very first time. She is very nervous about going because she is unsure about what will happen. Eventually brother and mom convince her everything will be okay. She ends up loving school, and even convincing brother to love school as well on a sunny day where he rather be outside.

This book has really good pictures, and would be a great one to read to kindergartners on their first day of school. It is a cute story and has a good little lesson within it. After reading it the class may choose to do some of the activities that sister did on her first day. Give students a chance to say things they are nervous about, what they are excited about, and the number one thing they want to learn in Kindergarten that year.

The writing style and voice is very appropriate for children, it flows very nicely and is an easy read for lower level readers. The illustrations are very detailed and colorful. The story also has a good moral: always give things a chance.

[Tori Walker · Rating 5 out of 5]

We got a series of Berenstain Bear books as a shower gift when William was born, but didn't pull them out till he was about 18 months old. They were a surprise hit with him. This has been his favourite book for a long time (only recently replaced by 'Big Dog, Little Dog' by P.D Eastman). He enjoyed all of his Berenstain Bear books, but he usually asked for "Da Bears, School bus in it" the most. It has a great rhythm and fun imagery, but the mark of a good children's book is that it is also enjoyable for the adult. William asked for this book a lot, we probably read it an average of twice a day for 3 months, and neither of us grew tired of it.

[Bryce Skiles · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Berenstain Bear books are classics. They all portray a bear family with a son and daughter and can be related to real life. This one particular is about sister bear getting ready to start kindergarten for the first time and being scared about what was going to happen. It is a great book for parents to read to their children especially before they go off and start school. Some children might get the impression that school is not a fun place to be but when they get there they will learn they might actually enjoy it.

[Bailey · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is one of my absolute favorites, especially as a future teacher. It is something that so many kids can relate to at all ages, I am nervous every year to start school, especially when it is new and I don't know my teachers or classmates. This is a feel good story and is really good to read to kids in elementary school. I love all the Berenstain Bear books as well!

[Alex · Rating 2 out of 5]

I kind of enjoyed this book because I liked kindergarten. I did not like this book because I do not like bears.

[Kelly Kosinski · Rating 5 out of 5]

I remember my daughter’s first day of school. Not kindergarten but a full day. I came home and cried my heart out. I could take kindergarten but a full day was very hard to deal with at first.

[Leland T-Money Fortier · Rating 1 out of 5]

no wannie school!

[Linda · Rating 4 out of 5]

#92 on Time Magazine 100 Best Children's books

Who doesn't like the Berenstain Bears! At this story about little sister heading off for her first day of kindergarden, I chuckled at 2 things. First, the comment that the air was becoming crisp (like fall) just before school was to start. The book was written in 1978 and back then, school didn't start until September and we weren't as afflicted by global warming. Nowadays school starts in the heat of mid-August. The other thing was that there were no seat belts on the bus.
Even though times have changed, this is still a marvelous book to allay any fears an about to be first-time-schooler may have.

[Amy · Rating 5 out of 5]

I stumbled upon this classic at my library, and it brought back many wonderful memories- such timeless, wholesome stories I highly recommend for parents, little ones, and teachers alike!

[Batu · Rating 4 out of 5]

Okula başlamak bir challenge, belki de bizimki çok erken anaokuluna başladığı için bu süreci çok yaşamadık. Kitabın hedef kitlesi değildik bu yüzden sanırım.

[Joan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sweet classic books that stands the test of time because it’s messages are timeless.

[J.T. IV · Rating 4 out of 5]

Most school has started around the country, but if you have little ones and they are still struggling with going, or if you will have some going in the next few years, this is a great book. The book follows Sister Bear as she gets ready to go to school for the first time. It shows how nervous and anxious she is even after a visit to the school and even with an older brother telling her how fun school is. However she also gets to see how she can help others who are scared and how much fun indeed school really is. Our girls have enjoyed this book very much over the years, and I cannot highly enough recommend the series or the book for young children. Hope you’ll check it out.

[Barbara B · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good book

My name is Julie and I am seven years old. I liked this book because it was about bears and my favorite animal is a bear.

[Kim · Rating 4 out of 5]

One of my favourites when I was a kid.

[Alexandra Welsh · Rating 3 out of 5]

This story begins with the summer season ending and Brother and Sister Bear getting ready to go back to school. Sister Bear is beginning kindergarten and she wonders what school will be like. Mama Bear takes Sister to school to meet her teacher, Miss Honeybear. She hears about fun things she will do. Then it is time for the first day of school and Sister is a little hesitant about going. Sister meets her classmates and participates in many activities. At the end, she realizes that school is fun! The age range of this story is primary (5-8yrs.) because it discusses going to school, specifically kindergarten. There are many words on the pages along with the illustrations. Stan and Jan Berenstain are very detailed illustrators. They use texture to show that the bears have fur. Their use of color is vivid and continuous throughout the story. The entire family always wears the same clothing. I have always loved the Berenstain Bear collection of books. I feel that this is a fairly good story, but it is not realistic about the way kindergarten is taught these days, at least in public schools. The students in the story play a lot and take naps. In reality, students are expected to do a lot of work in kindergarten, and playtime is cut short, if there is playtime at all. So, this story is a cute story to listen to for fun, but not a realistic picture about kindergarten today.

[Taya Bower · Rating 5 out of 5]

In this book the cubs are at the end of their summer vacation and it is time to go back to school. For sister bear it is her first year at school and she is very nervous to go. When mama bear and sister go to meet her teacher sister starts to realize that maybe school isn't too bad. When the first day rolls around sister bear is scared again, but brother assures her that school is fun so off they go to school. At the end of the day sister realizes that school is so much fun and that she was worrying for no reason.

This book is a very well written book that explains the struggles that a child may face when attending school for their first time. Overall the whole entire Bernstein bears series is written very well. The illustrations within these books are also very detailed to the point that they are able to really able to add to the words that the authors write. For these reasons I give this book a five star rating.

[Lexi McClelland · Rating 4 out of 5]

I already really enjoy this entire series, but this one is one of my favorites, as it follows Sister Bear going to Kindergarten. She is full of worries right up to the bus she gets on with Brother Bear to go to school. At school her first day consists of many different things that lead her to a conclusion at the end that school is very fun, and she shouldn't have ever been worried about if she would like it or not.
I want to teach kindergarteners, so this little book is precious to me and reminds me how some students may stress themselves out so much before their first day. I would love to include this book as a read aloud in my class on the first day to not only calm some fears of students, but to also introduce these characters so that I could continue to read other Berenstain Bear books throughout the year as they apply to lessons.

[Katt Hansen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sister Bear is starting kindergarten and she's got a lot of worries. What keeps this from being your typical 'starting school' book is the wonderful contrast shown as the kids get ready to go to school. On the first day of school, Brother Bear is all eagerness as is the older bears on the bus, but the younger ones are timid and quiet. Then the second day we see that glorious turnaround where the excitement of a new school year has kind of worn off for Brother, but Sister is the one with all the excitement. I love this because it's so terribly honest and real. Not every day is an exciting "I can't wait to learn today" kind of day - though it can be made that.

This is a fun book, and one that we enjoyed reading.

[Megan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Genre: Picture Book
Audience: K-4th
Topic: Going to School
Theme: Learning is fun
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

[Connie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sister Bear is nervous about school when Brother mentions that he wishes summer vacation would just be over already. (That is *so* unrealistic.)

But her mother takes her to meet her new kindergarten teacher, and that goes all right. Then we get a quick review of Sister's first day of school, including the various things a child might do in kindergarten, and finally we see that she's excited about school.

This book would do well to calm a nervous child going off to school for the first time.

[Vichida · Rating 5 out of 5]

I think that this book was a fun book.At first sister bear didn't wan't to go to third grade,because somebody teased her that third grade was very hard.So mama bear told her that,"At first you didn't wan't to go to kindergarten too,but then you tried to go there and you loved it.You met a new friend too."So sister bear said,"OK' I will try ."Then sister bear tried grade 3 and she loved it. She told her mom it was a little bit hard,but I still loved it.I saw Lizzy too.Then papa bear made apple pie so they all ate.

[Nikki Banks · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Berenstain Bears Go to School is a great book for children who are about to start school for the first time or are maybe about to attend a new school. The book is about the changes we experience from summer break to the start of school and about the many different emotions and fears we feel when we go to new places. The theme of this book is that it is normal to have fear of the unknown as long as you face that fear in the face. I feel that this collection of books is a great collection for any new reader to be able to get their hands onto.

[Kaley · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved this series when I was younger, but this specific book was one of my favorites. The books were very popular when I was a kid, but I know they've died down a little bit. I've introduced my younger siblings to these books and they were hooked just like I was when I was a kid! This specific book would be great to read to a kid that's has pre-kindergarten jitters, as this is what the book is about. These books are great because they always have a story and message that's easy for anyone, especially kids to relate to.

[Dominic Cifuni · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book would be appropriate for beginners starting schools (both Pre-K and K). This book emphasizes that nervousness and fear of the unknown are quite common for all students on the first day of school. With the help of her mama, papa, and brother; Sister Bear was able to enjoy her first day of school! Perhaps students can write/ draw how they felt on their first day of school, and we compare the feelings of both the students and Sister Bear. We can list out ideas on how we could have helped Sister Bear feel more comfortable in school, if she was in our class.

[Isaac · Rating 5 out of 5]

I feel that this book is a wonderful introduction to school for a child who will soon be attending school for the first time. The story focuses on beginning school for the first time and having doubts about the changes that it brings. Throughout the story the book as well as the corresponding illustrations help paint a picture of what going to school is like, and what a good experience it can be.