IT'S TIME FOR PRESCHOOL!

Codell walks children step by step through the sights, sounds and activities of preschool.

“What’s at home? What’s at school? / What’s different, what’s the same? / Let’s go to a preschool room / and see what we can name.” The first several pages mention common preschool objects and activities that observant readers can spot in the watercolor-and–digital-collage artwork. From there, Codell goes on to describe some of the regular parts of a preschool day: circle time, nap, art, and cleanup time, among others. Pages are also devoted to such once-in-a-while things as fire drills and field trips, as well as those all-important preschool (and life) skills of sharing and using manners. With a deeper nod than usual to those kids who may be having a tough time, Codell writes about “thinking-about-home time,” offering a poem that will have kids pondering what adults do when their children aren’t around. The sometimes wordy text is a mix of free and inconsistently rhyming verse that can make for a difficult read-aloud; the audience’s lack of reading skill precludes this being anything but. In a scratchy, scribbly style reminiscent of preschool, Ramá moves away from her usual round-headed, rosy-cheeked children for a less distinctly drawn classroom full of multiracial kids.

While this introduction may help a few pre-preschoolers, there are better options out there