| The Berenstain Bears Go to School | |
| Season 1, Episode 3a | |
| Series: The Berenstain Bears (2002) | |
 | |
| Air date | September 13, 2002 (Treehouse TV) January 15, 2003 (PBS) |
| Written by | Bridget Newson |
| Directed by | Scott Glynn & Gary Hurst |
| Preceded by The Berenstain Bears and Mighty Milton |
Followed by The Berenstain Bears and the Week at Grandma's |
“When summertime ends and the weather turns cool, most little bears are ready for school.”
—Sister Bear
The Berenstain Bears Go to School is the first segment of the third episode in season one of The Berenstain Bears. It first aired on Treehouse TV on September 13, 2002, and later on PBS on January 15, 2003. It is based on the book of the same name.
Summary[]
While doing some back-to-school shopping, Sister is excited about going to the third grade. However, Too-Tall and his friends make it sound like it's a hard grade because of their bad memories, which in turn causes Sister to not want to go to school. Brother and Mama try to convince Sister to start the third grade.
Plot[]
While going back-to-school shopping in August, Brother and Sister run into Too-Tall and his gang who initially tease Brother for holding Sister’s Bearbie-themed school supplies (which they mistakenly think are his) until Sister comes back, having successfully found what she was looking for. Too-Tall is puzzled, while Brother then turns to him and says it is her stuff.
It turns out Too-Tall, Smirk and Skuzz aren’t getting any real school supplies — just water pistols, comic books and pea shooters. Sister reminds them that they aren’t supposed to be having those things in school, much to Too-Tall and the gang’s surprise. When Too-Tall asks Sister if she’s sure she’s old enough to be going, the latter replies that she’s going into third grade with Teacher Jane.
Too-Tall and the gang amuse themselves at Sister’s expense by warning her how hard third grade will be and how strict Teacher Jane is. Back at home, Papa asks Mama if she’s going to make a pie; Mama suggests that he could make a pie himself.
To help build confidence, Brother tries unsuccessfully to convince Sister not to worry by showing her everything she will learn in third grade. Mama reminisces about Sister starting kindergarten and reflects on how her daughter’s feelings back then were exactly the same. Sure enough, on Sister’s first day of third grade, she enjoys the new experience just like she did when she started kindergarten.
Sister tells Brother that her first day was a bit harder, but she guesses she’s just getting smarter; Brother says that the same could not be said for Too-Tall, as his teacher confiscated his pea shooter and comic books. Sister is glad she didn’t listen to him after all. Papa has just finished a pie as Sister inspired him to try something new; the pie itself is delicious and Papa remarks, “It was easy as pie.”
Differences From the Book[]
- In the book, Sister was going to kindergarten with Miss Honeybear. In the cartoon, she was going to third grade with Teacher Jane.
- Too-Tall and his gang, and Lizzy were seen a lot in the episode, in the book, they were not seen. The book was published before "Double Dare" and "The Trouble With Friends".
- In the book, the story began when the Bear Family was celebrating the end of summer. In the cartoon, the story began at a store where Mama, Sister, and Brother were buying school supplies.
- Sister and Lizzy met in kindergarten in the cartoon, whereas in "The Trouble With Friends", they met when Lizzy moved to Bear Country.