THE DAY MY MOM CAME TO KINDERGARTEN

Mom manages to make about every mistake in the kindergarten book when she visits school one day.

Mom looks a little woebegone when she drops her daughter off at kindergarten, so her daughter invites her to come for the day. But Mom doesn’t know the rules, so she neglects to take off her outdoor shoes (“I was SHOCKED,” says her daughter), talks out of turn (“VERY EMBARRASSING, Mom”), spills crumbs from her sandwich, blabs during storytime and grumps when her art project doesn’t turn out. But she gradually gets the hang of things, and by the end, she is almost a kindergartener, though the chairs really are too small. Fergus has provided a fun poke at role reversal, with the mother as the utter miscreant and the daughter striking an admonitory note. It has a nice, natural touch, and it should be a solace for any kid who worries about entering kindergarten: Mistakes are not the end of the world. Lowery provides a strong supporting background with strong lines and great fields of color in his illustrations. The artwork also squares readers to the kindergarten setting: You can almost smell the crayons and feel in the cubbies for your shoes.

A well-observed kindergarten whimsy.