It's the first day of kindergarten, and Henry is raring to go. First he gets dressed and eats a good breakfast. Then he and mom are off to school. Henry knows he's going to have a busy day: there will be stories to hear, letters and numbers to learn, songs to sing, and friends to make. But when Henry gets to school, it looks scary and for a moment he's not sure he's ready for kindergarten. What Henry soon discovers, though, is that he's been ready all along, and that the only thing he's not ready for is how much fun kindergarten is going to be!
This charming and realistic story about a young mouse's excitement with a touch of nervousness about the first day of school is a great book for soon-to-be kindergarteners. Kids will fall in love with the adorable mouse and will likely find his enthusiasm to be contagious. The illustrations feature vibrant colors that help evoke a sense of playfulness and fun, especially in the classroom scenes.
Many children will relate to the anticipation and excitement of beginning school. This book offers a wonderful glimpse of a morning before school routine, including brushing teeth, getting dressed and eating breakfast. It also shows kids the many ways to have fun in school, such as painting, while also explaining all the important things they will learn about, such as the alphabet and numbers. One page shows all the items that the mouse needs to pack into his school bag and kids can help you identify the common arts and crafts objects, such as crayons, pencils and a glue stick. When the book touches on the sudden fear of being in a new place surrounded by new people it shows kids that by simply trying something new for a few minutes can be enough to calm any jitters.
Emily, the three-year-old I nanny for, is getting ready to start preschool soon so this book definitely hit close to home with her. She, like the main character in the book, decided that school looks like a lot of fun, especially the arts and crafts. This is a book that quickly moved to the top of her reading list and it seems that her love for one particular "cute" classmate of the mouse's is at least part of the reason why.
--Abby