  | Full Text Reviews: Bulletin for the Center... - 07/01/2016 We have lots of books about kids attending school for the first time, but who thinks of the school’s point of view? Adam Rex, that’s who, in this story about the newly built Frederick Douglass Elementary, which is nervously opening to kids for the first time. His feelings are hurt when kids on the playground say they hate school or when a balking kid has to be carried in by a parent (“‘I must be awful,’ the school whispered to himself”). Things improve, however, as the kids are nice about the school’s unintentionally lettting go with a fire alarm and when the school eagerly learns information from lessons; at the end of the day, he excitedly asks his pal, the Janitor, if the kids can come back the next day. The book hits perfect childlike notes in the school’s responses, ranging from his doubt that he would enjoy the kids to his delight when a girl draws a picture of him, making him an appealing offbeat protagonist. His relationship with Janitor evinces real tenderness, and the humor throughout is gently witty rather than raucous. The art balances crisply cut paper layers with comfortable painterly sweeps of color and handhewn lines of brick and chair leg, all floating on white backdrops. There’s a hint of a face in the front doorway (whose smile soon tenses into a straight line), but otherwise there’s no overt visual personification, with the focus on what’s happening in the school rather than the school’s reaction. Anthropomorphization of the whole building is a new and promising approach for school-shy youngsters, and it’ll make the already school-positive want to give their beloved building a hug. DS - Copyright 2016 The Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois. School Library Journal - 08/01/2016 PreS-Gr 1—Step aside, other first day of school books: there's a new school in town. After construction and a summer of tender loving care from the janitor, Frederick Douglass Elementary's first day finally arrives. And what a day it is: hordes of children with all their feelings, mess, noise, new concepts, and even a fire alarm (which the school finds deeply embarrassing). Worried but curious, impetuous, and vulnerable, the school works as a perfect proxy for nervous child readers. Rex's warm and goofy text is brought to life by Robinson's vivid collage illustrations. His signature round-headed, tulip-handed figures are diverse and appealing, from the supportive janitor to the "little girl with freckles" who slowly warms up to school at the same time that the school is warming up to the children. VERDICT A+: an essential purchase that is simultaneously funny, frank, and soothing. A perfect first day read-aloud.—Sarah Stone, San Francisco Public Library - Copyright 2016 Publishers Weekly, Library Journal and/or School Library Journal used with permission. School Library Journal - 12/01/2016 PreS-Gr 1—Newly constructed Frederick Douglass Elementary is preparing to open his doors. He's a bit anxious and wonders if he'll pass the biggest test of all and win the approval of the swarms of kids who arrive as the school year begins. Rex's warm, funny, and emotionally resonant text is superbly complemented by Robinson's engaging and vivacious collage artwork. A clever and playful look at first-day jitters. - Copyright 2016 Publishers Weekly, Library Journal and/or School Library Journal used with permission. Loading...
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