BACK TO SCHOOL WITH BIGFOOT

Bigfoot’s body and feet may be larger than most, but his worries, though they feel monumental to him, will be familiar to grade schoolers.

Sure, back-to-school shopping for Bigfoot is a royal pain. Even the big-and-tall store doesn’t have clothes that fit, and forget about buying shoes in a regular store—and a haircut takes the entire day when you are covered in the stuff. But his what-ifs will not be new to kids: what if the bus doesn’t stop for him? What if he makes a mistake at lunch? His imaginative scenarios are enough for him to quit school before it even starts. But then he thinks of all the things about school he would miss—the best teacher in school, studying mythological creatures, his friends—and some positive possibilities: a field trip, art projects. It’s enough to change his mind again, and the last page sees Bigfoot and his much-smaller friends entering the school. Pressler’s seemingly digital illustrations will have readers in stitches as they see Bigfoot in the dressing room in his orange-and-pink polka-dot undies or watch as a kid almost drowns in all the hair on the floor at the barber shop. And for cryptozoology-savvy adults, there’s the page about Bigfoot’s school-picture-day worry: “What if I can’t stand still for class pictures? AGAIN!”

Nicely juxtaposes the negative what-ifs with a great list of positives and just may lead nervous readers to do the same.