Through the Looking Glass Children's Book Reviews
K is for Kindergarten
Illustrator: Joseph Cowman
Poetry and Nonfiction Picture Book Series
For ages
Sleeping Bear Press, 2017 ISBN: 978-1585369959
Going to school for the first time is a very important moment in a child’s life. There are so many new things to learn, and so many new experiences to anticipate. Often children look forward to their first day in kindergarten, and sometimes they are a little nervous as well.
In this excellent book children preparing to enter kindergarten will find challenges to try, poems to listen to, illustrations to look at, and interactive countdown activities to do that will help them get ready for what is to come. The title is presented in an alphabet book format that will also offer them the opportunity to familiarize themselves with their ABC’s.
We begin with the letter A, the letter that is for “At last!” The time for kindergarten “is almost here” and the anticipation is such that “Every day feels like a year.” In the Kinder Countdown section we are asked if we know when the first day of kindergarten is on the calendar, and if we know how many days are left. One way to get a sense of how time is passing is to make a paper chain. Children can remove one loop of the chain for each day that they count down. The Kinder Challenge section for the letter A also requires that we look at the calendar. Can we figure out when the hundredth day of school is and circle that day on the calendar? Perhaps we could learn a new word for each of those days.
The letter C is for crayons and coloring. The page is a celebration of all those creative things that young children like to do. In the Kinder Countdown section children are invited to imagine what their new classroom will look like and to draw a picture of themselves in that classroom. A drawing project is also the focus in the Kinder Challenge.
Packed with interesting and engaging things to do, this alphabet book is a must for families who have a child who is going to go into kindergarten. As they go through the book, children will learn how to follow directions, what not to take to school, how children travel to school, how to get along with others and make friends, and so much more. They will also get to enjoy some wonderful poems and beautiful illustrations.
