bookshelf

AND THEN COMES SCHOOL

Name: AND THEN COMES SCHOOL
Author: Tom Brenner
ISBN: 978-1-5362-0913-6

by Tom Brenner ; illustrated by Jen Hill ‧ RELEASE DATE: June 13, 2023

A back-to-school book refreshingly focused on the sensory feel of the familiar season.

bookshelf

Summer comes to a close as a family prepares for the first day of school.

The sights, sounds, smells, and feel of the season’s end come through on each page of this picture book. Brenner’s lyrical verse follows a soothing pattern: “WHEN…the leaves of trees seem tired by noon,” “THEN, with fingers stained deep purple, watch as / the berries bob and boil into glistening jam.” “WHEN pumpkins take on an orange tinge,” “THEN bring in baskets / of flowers and fruits / and veggies.” Meanwhile, a light-skinned family helps a child get ready for the first day of school. A list of school supplies is sent home, a first-day outfit is chosen, and then the big day arrives. Hill’s mixed-media illustrations pair perfectly with the text, adding movement and depth as the sun sets on a game of flashlight tag and as a rush of students heads into the school and settles into a new classroom. While the story might help prepare anxious readers for the new year, it mostly plays up the mood and energy surrounding the wind down of summer, making for a rather original take on the subject. Background characters, including the students at the end, are diverse; one student uses a wheelchair. (This book was reviewed digitally.)

A back-to-school book refreshingly focused on the sensory feel of the familiar season. (Picture book. 4-7)

Pub Date: June 13, 2023

ISBN: 978-1-5362-0913-6

Page Count: 32

Publisher: Candlewick

Review Posted Online: March 28, 2023

Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2023

Categories:

CHILDREN'S SOCIAL THEMES

- BOOK REVIEW
AND THEN COMES SUMMER
by Tom Brenner ; illustrated by Jaime Kim

- BOOK REVIEW
AND THEN COMES CHRISTMAS
by Tom Brenner ; illustrated by Jana Christy

- BOOK REVIEW
AND THEN COMES HALLOWEEN
by Tom Brenner and illustrated by Holly Meade

bookshelf

ON THE FIRST DAY OF KINDERGARTEN

by Tish Rabe ; illustrated by Laura Hughes ‧ RELEASE DATE: June 21, 2016

While this is a fairly bland treatment compared to Deborah Lee Rose and Carey Armstrong-Ellis’ The Twelve Days of...

bookshelf

Rabe follows a young girl through her first 12 days of kindergarten in this book based on the familiar Christmas carol.

The typical firsts of school are here: riding the bus, making friends, sliding on the playground slide, counting, sorting shapes, laughing at lunch, painting, singing, reading, running, jumping rope, and going on a field trip. While the days are given ordinal numbers, the song skips the cardinal numbers in the verses, and the rhythm is sometimes off: “On the second day of kindergarten / I thought it was so cool / making lots of friends / and riding the bus to my school!” The narrator is a white brunette who wears either a tunic or a dress each day, making her pretty easy to differentiate from her classmates, a nice mix in terms of race; two students even sport glasses. The children in the ink, paint, and collage digital spreads show a variety of emotions, but most are happy to be at school, and the surroundings will be familiar to those who have made an orientation visit to their own schools.

While this is a fairly bland treatment compared to Deborah Lee Rose and Carey Armstrong-Ellis’ The Twelve Days of Kindergarten (2003), it basically gets the job done. (Picture book. 4-7)

Pub Date: June 21, 2016

ISBN: 978-0-06-234834-0

Page Count: 32

Publisher: Harper/HarperCollins

Review Posted Online: May 3, 2016

Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2016

Categories:

CHILDREN'S CONCEPTS | CHILDREN'S SOCIAL THEMES

- BOOK REVIEW
ON THE FIRST DAY OF FIRST GRADE
by Tish Rabe ; illustrated by Sarah Jennings

- BOOK REVIEW
FIVE LITTLE BUNNIES
by Tish Rabe ; illustrated by Dan Yaccarino

bookshelf

TINY T. REX AND THE IMPOSSIBLE HUG

by Jonathan Stutzman ; illustrated by Jay Fleck ‧ RELEASE DATE: March 5, 2019

Wins for compassion and for the refusal to let physical limitations hold one back.

bookshelf

With such short arms, how can Tiny T. Rex give a sad friend a hug?

Fleck goes for cute in the simple, minimally detailed illustrations, drawing the diminutive theropod with a chubby turquoise body and little nubs for limbs under a massive, squared-off head. Impelled by the sight of stegosaurian buddy Pointy looking glum, little Tiny sets out to attempt the seemingly impossible, a comforting hug. Having made the rounds seeking advice—the dino’s pea-green dad recommends math; purple, New Age aunt offers cucumber juice (“That is disgusting”); red mom tells him that it’s OK not to be able to hug (“You are tiny, but your heart is big!”), and blue and yellow older sibs suggest practice—Tiny takes up the last as the most immediately useful notion. Unfortunately, the “tree” the little reptile tries to hug turns out to be a pterodactyl’s leg. “Now I am falling,” Tiny notes in the consistently self-referential narrative. “I should not have let go.” Fortunately, Tiny lands on Pointy’s head, and the proclamation that though Rexes’ hugs may be tiny, “I will do my very best because you are my very best friend” proves just the mood-lightening ticket. “Thank you, Tiny. That was the biggest hug ever.” Young audiences always find the “clueless grown-ups” trope a knee-slapper, the overall tone never turns preachy, and Tiny’s instinctive kindness definitely puts him at (gentle) odds with the dinky dino star of Bob Shea’s Dinosaur Vs. series.

Wins for compassion and for the refusal to let physical limitations hold one back. (Picture book. 5-7)