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“When a problem at school is kept secret too long, it can grow 'til a cub thinks that everything's wrong!”
Opening quote for The Berenstain Bears' Trouble at School

The Berenstain Bears' Trouble at School is a book in the Berenstain Bears First Time Books series that was first published in 1986.

It was later adapted into an episode of the same name for the 2002 adaptation of The Berenstain Bears, which also served as the series' pilot episode.

Summary[]

Following his return to school from being sick, Brother gets a bad grade on his math quiz and is forced to have Mama and Papa sign it per Teacher Bob's orders. Instead of going to school, Brother decides to skip class until he arrives at his grandparents' house, who teach him about division and why running away from his problems is never okay to do.

Plot[]

One day, as Brother and Sister came home from school, Brother suddenly started sneezing and wheezing. Mama took his temperature, put him to bed, and went to call Dr. Grizzly. Per Dr. Grizzly's orders, Brother stays in bed and home from school, with Mama providing him drinks such as orange juice. Papa brings up the portable TV.

Some time later, Brother has the time of his life in bed by watching cartoons, reading comic books, and playing with his dinosaur collection. Sister came home from school that day with make-up work for Brother to do, to which he casts aside as he is having too much fun. Meanwhile at school, Teacher Bob was teaching his class about division, and on the soccer field, Coach Bruin had Cousin Freddy take Brother's place as the forward on the soccer team, which Cousin Freddy eagerly accepts.

When it came time for Brother to go back to school after he recovered, he took the folder of make-up work with him to study on the school bus, but while riding to school, one of the cubs tells him about Freddy and the soccer team, making Brother so upset that he forgot about studying. During early gym, Brother was even more upset as he watched Freddy take his place.

Later that day, as Brother and several other cubs return to Teacher Bob's class, he announces to his students that they were going to have a quiz on division as he handed his students the quiz papers while they went to their desks. During the quiz, Brother was unable to concentrate because the thought of Freddy kicking field goals was all he could think about.

After the quiz, Brother got all of the problems wrong and Teacher Bob wrote "Very poor! Must be signed by parent." on the paper. On the way home from school, Brother sat on one of the seats feeling sorry for himself, but what he didn't know was that Sister caught his sneezing and wheezing. At the treehouse, Mama and Papa tend to Sister while Brother snuck off.

The next morning, instead of going to school, Brother hid in some tall grass next to a bus stop. He then walked down the dirt road kicking a stone, scaring the woodland creatures along the way. At the top of a hill, Brother folded his division test paper into a paper airplane and threw it into the air. As Brother watched the plane fly circles, he noticed his grandparents' house on the other side of the bog.

As Gramps worked on a ship model and Gran made cookies, Brother entered their house and explained everything about catching a cold, the folder of work, the soccer disaster, the failed quiz, missing the bus, and the paper airplane to them. Gramps takes Brother out to the bog to show him an old wagon stuck in a muddy pond. He explains to Brother that he took a wrong turn with the wagon and ended up in the muddy pond, and advises Brother that if he finds himself going on the wrong road, he shouldn't keep going until he's in over his head and to back up and start over on the right road. Before leaving the bog, they notice Brother's test paper stuck to a berry bush.

Gramps then takes Brother back to the Bear family treehouse in his pickup truck, where they talk to Mama and Papa about Brother's failed quiz paper. Gramps then pours the bag of cookies onto the table and helps Brother with his division. Once Brother got a better understanding of division, Mama took him back to school, adding that it's never too late to correct a mistake.

At school, Brother returned to Teacher Bob's class for a retest, as the students all did poorly on the quiz and Teacher Bob gave them a second chance. This time around, Brother was able to concentrate and did much better than the previous attempt. That afternoon, there was a soccer game between Beartown and Bear Country School. Coach Bruin orders Brother to go in for Freddy since he doesn't think Freddy is quite ready for first team, which Brother eagerly does.

Cast[]

Trivia[]

  • Moral: Just because you're home sick from school doesn't mean you should neglect your make-up work. Do it as soon as possible instead of putting it off.
  • The book can be seen in the movie The Santa Clause along with a Magic School Bus book in the classroom.

Gallery[]

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