In a panic at starting school, a boy imagines the worst. What if he forgets how to write his name? What if the big kids tease him? He might cry. He might wet his pants. He will not go. Well, maybe he will go if he can zoom into school in a spaceship and impress everybody or ride to school on the back of a lion or cruise there in a stretch limo. At every stage his mother is firm and understanding. “It’s the rule to go to school,” she says, but she admits she also feels scared as she hands him his backpack. The line-and-watercolor pictures are simple and affectionate. Whether starting preschool or returning to class after the summer vacation, a child will recognize the terror, enjoy the heroic fantasies, and be reassured that everyone feels the same way. Ages 4-8.
© 1997
Audience: Children