IT’S TIME FOR SCHOOL WITH TALLULAH

Spunky Tallulah, from Tallulah in the Kitchen (2005), dusts the flour from her cat paws and exchanges it for blackboard chalk dust in a classroom because, after all, she was born to teach. She and her friends pig Roxy, alligator Freddie and dog Flapjack welcome a new student into the classroom: Nigel, a penguin. Tallulah applies her lessons to all the school activities: checking out books from the library, designing place mats, journal time, show-and-tell, recess and snack time with her “Snackitty Crackers.” As with the previous story, Wolff’s patchwork collage and gouache illustrations incorporate fabric patterns and balloon comments from the characters that add to the pop art liveliness. Designed to demonstrate that school and learning are fun, this perky primer of pretend school will be reassuring to preschoolers who are anxious about the experience. (Picture book. 4-6)