Through the Looking Glass Children's Book Reviews
Off to Kindergarten
Illustrator: Melissa Sweet
Picture Book
For ages 4 to 6
Scholastic, 2007 ISBN: 0439730902
Bill is going to kindergarten for the first time today. Because he has never done this before he wants to make sure that he takes everything that he is going to need with him. For Bill this does not just mean taking a backpack with a snack and some school supplies in it. Dear me no! Bill is the kind of little boy who wants to be well prepared. He wants to take a stack of books, which he piles up in a little wagon “like pancakes.” He wants to take his easel and paints. He wants to take his pillow for nap time, and his sandbox. By the time Bill has collected everything he feels he needs he has a huge pile of stuff. How is Bill going to get all his things to kindergarten?
Going to kindergarten for the first time can be frightening. One of things many children do to make such a day less intimidating is to take something familiar to school with them. They take a blanket or a favorite stuffed animal to keep them company. Bill’s need for so many things will surely make little readers laugh. They will start trying to guess what Bill is going to want to take next. Perhaps he will take the family pet? Perhaps he will want to take a whole tree!
With a humorous rhyming text and Melissa Sweet’s warm illustrations, this is a picture book that will surely help with those first day of school jitters.
