My First Day of School

P.K. Hallinan has written a whole series of special days books - Halloween, Thanksgiving, Valentines Day, Christmas, Easter, and First Day of School. In fact, he's written and illustrated over 100 books for children, focusing primarily of family relationships, holidays, and character development.

Written in verse, this is the story follows a young boy through his first day of school, and he is excited about it, something we don't see often enough is recent children's literature with so many books on the market trying to address anxiety and fear over a new school year.

He jumps out of bed and gets ready, including having a big breakfast. He notes that the other students are "shined up like diamonds for their very first day," and that the teachers are quick to make them feel welcome - another positive message about school - hooray!

The Kindergarten teacher reassures her students that with their nametags, they won't get lost or get on the wrong bus, more fears addressed - BAM!

They find their tables and cubbies, talk about manners and safety, learned where the bathrooms are, and had a snack. They have a recess, practice some word families, and play some games a great first day of Kindergarten!

He goes home excited to return the next day - teacher win!

Simple, with plenty of opportunities to let children fill in the rhyming words and compare and contrast their first day of school with his. A must-have for your back-to-school collection.

Amazon carries this as a used book. While you're there, take a look at the rest of his oeuvre. His books are always sweet, speak to the child rather than the adult reading partner, have a positive message, and his illustrations are cute and colorful.

Decisions, Decisions

During the week leading up to Valentine's Day, I read a picture book to my class each day while they eat their mid-morning snack. With one day to go, I have 4 books left and time for one tomorrow. So I brought them home and read them again, and thought I'd write a bit about each one to help me make up my mind.

The Ballad of Valentine, by Allison Jackson, can be sung to the tune of "My Darling Clementine." A man writes letter after letter to his sweetheart, Valentine, and none of them ever arrive. He chronicles the different delivery methods he selects and the ways in which they go haywire. All the while, we see Valentine going about her daily chores, including baking a pie, which she then carries to his home to present to him. Mars and Venus at their best :)

The Best Thing About Valentines, by Eleanor Hudson, is for younger readers. The rhyming text is perfect for letting the little ones finish the sentence with the second rhyming word. An adorable bear makes and delivers valentines, capturing exactly how most children feel about this special day.

I enjoy P.K. Hallinan's work and managed to pick up most of his holiday-themed books at a wonderful children's book shop in Ashland, Oregon years ago. Heartprints is his Valentine's Day offering, but the definition of heartprints on the cover leaves no doubt that this is no ordinary Valentine's Day book.

"the impression left behind by a deliberate act of kindness"

The final book on my list is Roses Are Pink, Your Feet Really Stink by Diane deGroat. This is another in her series of books about Gilbert and his friends. These characters tackle problems that kids face in their families, with their friends, and at school. This one finds Gilbert unable to write something nice on two of the valentines he is making for his classmates, so he writes a mean poem to both of them and signs their names. Of course, everyone finds out and Gilbert has to deal with being ostracized and figure out how to make things right.

Hmmm, I might have to make time for two books.

Update: I could NOT make up my mind, so I did what every 21st century digiphile does and put it on Facebook. Everyone who responded chose Roses are Pink, Your Feet Really Stink. We read it this morning and I must say, my friends have great decision-making skills - the kids loved it and it gave us an opportunity to have a rich discussion about choices, consequences, and looking for the best in people.

I'll save Heartprints for one of our Morning Meetings in the near future. I can't pass up that opportunity!