The Berenstain Bears Go Out for the Team

Stan and Jan Berenstain's The Berenstain Bears Go Out for the Team is a baseball story for 5 year olds about trying out for a real team and feeling the pressure.

What happens

Brother and Sister love baseball more than any other sport. Every spring they dig out their gloves and play in Farmer Ben's back meadow. The ground rules are brilliant. Second base is a rock, so no sliding, and a ball in the duck pond counts as a double!

Sister has grown since last season, and she's hitting well. She knows the rules better than anyone too (Cousin Freddie finds that out the hard way). Then Farmer Ben's goat chews the cover off the ball, and that's the end of that game.

Papa spots in the paper that the Bear Country Cub League is holding tryouts. There's a proper field with fences, grandstands and uniforms. Mama warns them that there'll be pressure. And there is!

Brother admits the worst thing isn't failing to make the team. The worst thing would be Sister making it when he doesn't. Sister is NOT impressed, and Mama gently explains how he feels (he's older, and very proud of his batting). It's a really good way into talking about brothers, sisters and competing with each other.

Tryout day feels very real. There are officials with clipboards and sunglasses so you can't tell what they're thinking. Sister misses an easy ground ball. Brother swings so hard he ends up sitting on the seat of his pants. Then they both settle down and do better.

Would your reader be nervous? Most of us would!

We won't say whether they make the team. But the last page has a very funny twist about who really needs reminding that it's only a game.

One small thing. Sister calls Brother's remark "sexist", so you might get asked what that means!

What to read next

If they're after another Brother and Sister face-off, No Girls Allowed has Brother and his friends building a secret clubhouse to keep Sister out, and Sister deciding what to do about it.