The Berenstain Bears and the Female Fullback is a book in the Berenstain Bears Big Chapter Books series that was first published on November 23, 1993.
It was later adapted into an episode of the same name for the third season of the 2002 animated series The Berenstain Bears.
Synopsis[]
Queenie McBear is bothered by how both the boy and girl cubs are treated when it comes to extracurricular activites at Bear Country School, so she works quickly to let boys do girl things and vice versa.
Chapters and Plot[]
Chapter 1: A Bright New Year[]
The Bear family settled down for breakfast as Brother and Sister prepared for the new school year. Brother decides that he was going to sign up to be the quarterback on the varsity team, and Sister decides to try out for the girls' swim tean and be a cheerleader.
Papa becomes proud of Brother's choice, and Mama adds that Sister will be the youngest cub to be a cheerleader. Papa ignores Mama as he continues to talk about Brother's future as a football player.
Mama, however, notices the girls at Bear Country School got less attention than the boys.
Chapter 2: A Storm Brewing[]
That morning at Bear Country School, Queenie McBear gathers a group of girl cubs and had a meeting. She brings to attention about boys being more important than girls when it comes to school president and football.
Babs, Lizzy, and several other girls agree that it isn't really fair that the boys are getting all the attention. Queenie then states she plans to run for student body president and has ides for the girls' sports program.
Sister, who was still upset about what Papa said earlier that morning, agrees with Queenie's movement. When the school bell rang, the girls went inside the school to find Brother, Cousin Freddy, and several other boy cubs gathered around the bulletin board signing up for sports. Queenie remarks that something has to be done.
Chapter 3: Broom and the Bullhorn[]
At football tryouts a few days later, Brother and Cousin Fred were at football tryouts. As the boys practiced, Coach Grizzmeyer called for "B. Broom", who, to his surprise, was a girl.
When Bertha was called, she ran to the football field to prepare for practice, but Coach Grizzmeyer refuses to let her practice due to Bertha being a girl. He then goes on a tirade about how he's running a boys' varsity football team, then orders Bertha to leave the field, which she does so while in tears.
Chapter 4: Fuel for the Fire[]
As Coach Grizzmeyer had the boys do ten-minute exercises, Brother and Barry remark about what just happened.
The girls at cheerleading practice crowded around Bertha as she wiped tears from her face. Babs remarked that what Bertha did was brave. Shortly after, Bertha bursts into tears as the girls walked her to their locker room.
Chapter 5: A House Divided[]
Word about Bertha Broom's rejection to join football tryouts made news headlines and attracted several angry parents. Some bears were mad about how a girl signed up for football tryouts, but others were angry about how Bertha wasn't given a fair chance to try out.
A few days after tryouts, Papa shows Mama an article he was reading in Bear Country Intelligencer. After reading the letter Farmer Ben wrote, Papa admits that he doesn't agree with it as Bertha didn't mean any harm and is just confused on how girls should act.
Mama notes Papa's tactless comment and says that Bertha just likes to play football. Papa objects, saying that there's no reason for her to try out on the boys' football team. However, he reads Mrs. Ben's letter and realizes that Mama's right.
Brother and Sister, who overheard their argument, interrupt them. However, word about the article got around Bear Country quickly, as many husbands and wives got into fights with each other, with Farmer and Mrs. Ben scaring their cows, Squire and Mrs. Grizzly started throwing things at each other, and Mr. and Mrs. Bruin were so angry that they stopped talking to each other.
Chapter 6: A Clean Bill of Health[]
After dinner one evening, Queenie and her mother visit the Bear family with clipboards holding petitions and a pen. Mrs. McBear explains the Bertha Broom situation to Papa, to which he states that girls can already play hockey and volleyball at Bear Country School.
The petition idea attracts Mama, who signs it, and Sister, who signs Queenie's petition about a cheerleader strike. Papa eschews the idea, with Queenie telling him that she is running for student body president. Angered, Papa orders Queenie and Mrs. McBear to leave.
Brother, while grateful for Papa standing up for him, runs to remind him that Bear Country is a democracy, and Queenie has every right to run. Papa settles down and apologizes, but takes it back when he says that girls aren't tough enough and medically fit to play football.
Just then, the Bear family's doctor, Gert Grizzly, appears on the screen. She states that Bertha Broom is not only fit for football, but she's also fit for wrestling and rugby. Queenie and Sister gave each other a high-five as did Mama and Mrs. McBear. Angered, Papa storms to the bedroom.
Just after the news report, Sister went to do her homework while Brother stayed in the kitchen to help Mama with the dishes. He tells her that he's been having a hard time at football practice due to the jeerleaders' screaming and yelling, where a group of girls head out to the soccer field and jeer the boys instead of cheering them on.
The concerned Mama asks how Brother would feel if Bertha Broom was on the team, and as the starting quarterback, he should share his opinion with the rest of the team. Brother then runs to use the phone and call Cousin Freddy.
Chapter 7: A Tale of Two Locker Rooms[]
In the boys' locker room, Brother suggests to his team that they should let Bertha Broom try out and get it over with. Everyone, including Coach Grizzmeyer, fell silent. Too-Tall agrees to the idea even though he knows that Bertha won't make it.
After some convincing, Coach Grizzmeyer agrees to let Bertha try out, then orders Freddy to run out and tell the Jeerleaders to go home. Just then, the boys go to the football field to practice. Meanwhile in the girls' locker room, they were changing into their cheerleading uniforms, and Queenie was more excited than ever since her campaign for president.
Just as Bertha enters the locker room wearing a pair of jeans and a green football jersey, the cheerleaders all congratulate her and do a cheer. Bertha thanks the girls for their support, but all she wanted to do was have a chance to play football. Queenie makes sure she gets that chance and runs with the other girls to the football field, leaving Bertha alone.
Chapter 8: The Fateful Tryout[]
The next afternoon, as Coach Grizzmeyer had football practice, many girls filled the grandstand with some holding signs supporting Bertha Broom. Coach Grizzmeyer then tested Bertha by having her block, play linebacker by tackling Too-Tall, and sacking Brother.
During scrimmage, Bertha proved her worth as she bowled through her teammates with ease. Coach Grizzmeyer smiled as he watched Bertha go from being a girl to a winning football player.
Chapter 9: The Campaign Thickens[]
After Bertha's highly successful tryout, Queenie's campaign for president saw an increase in interest, as Sister, Lizzy and several other girls organized a group called Girls for Queenie while some boys formed Boys for Brother.
During the debate, Brother became less excited about winning and being elected president, as he didn't mind if girls wanted to play sports that are predominantly played by males, such as football. He also admitted that being both the starting quarterback and the president would be too much responsibility.
The boys on the football team were happy that Bertha Broom was their fullback while Too-Tall got moved to tight end. One day before the election and two days before the first football game, Sister and Lizzy did a head count of the cubs and told Queenie the news when they went to visit her at her house.
Chapter 10: The Big Game[]
The football game opened up with bands playing their fight songs, cheerleaders, and the grandstands filling to the brim with fans.
Just after Bert Brunowski announced the Bear Country Cousins, Coach Grizzmeyer looked around and didn't see Bertha, who later arrived wearing a sweatsuit. She tells them that her uniform was tied into knots and her shoulder pads were missing. Coach Grizzmeyer, Skuzz, and the others stared at Too-Tall when they found out that he was the one who did it. As an apology, Too-Tall took off his shoulder pads and gave them to Bertha just as Freddy undid the last knot. For the first half of the game, the Cousins had seven points while the Bullies had ten.
When the game resumed, Bertha and Brother teamed up to knock aside Cousins players as they both raced to the endzone to score the game winning touchdown. Bertha joined the Bear Country Cousins in lifting Coach Grizzmeyer to their shoulders. In the stands, Papa chanted Bertha's name and the others joined in.
Chapter 11: Hail to the Chief[]
Just after the game, Bert Brunowski went to announce the election had a tie, as both Brother and Queenie had 56 votes each. Bertha reveals she voted for Brother as he was the most responsible, and Too-Tall voted for Queenie since he was crazy about her.
Worried about the votes, Brother tells Queenie he's withdrawing from the election, making her the winner. Later, three players from the Beartown Bullies admitted they were the ones who stole Bertha's shoulder pads because they were terrified at the thought of losing to a girl.