MISS MINGO AND THE 100TH DAY OF SCHOOL
From the Miss Mingo series
by Jamie Harper ; illustrated by Jamie Harper
Miss Mingo and her kindergarten class of animals are back, this time celebrating both the 100th day of school and one another’s amazing capabilities.
In mid-February, it’s time to look at the students’ 100th Day projects, and they are as varied as the students themselves. Hippo’s mom has brought his born-yesterday sister, who weighs 100 pounds; Octopus has brought 10 groups of 10 shells each from his octopus’s garden; Koala shares their teddy bear collection, which is ironic because Koala is not a true bear but a marsupial. As in the previous titles, Harper shares fascinating factoids about each species in a small font: “House centipedes can travel 15 inches (38 centimeters) per second. That’s like a person running 58 feet (18 meters) in a second!” As the presentations continue, Alligator, stressed out, asks to go next and shares 100 seconds of deep breathing to relax everyone. Harper’s cartoon illustrations highlight the class’s enthusiasm and emotions. Though many pages group items to facilitate counting, not every 100 is countable: Centipede’s legs aren’t all in the frame, and Pelican’s project is the fact that this bird dives “into the ocean from 100 feet in the air.”
The 100th day of school has never looked this diverse.
(Picture book. 4-7)