It’s June 4th at Albert E. Chapman Elementary, and time to bring the school year to an end. Third-grader Matthew Perez has a goodbye gift for his teacher, Mrs. Mallory, but nerves and multiple interruptions delay the giving till the end of the day. The story introduces a nice cross-section of students, a crazy group of cafeteria workers and a friendly classroom hamster named Rhoda. Borden’s prose is accomplished but accessible: The narrative resembles free verse, several stanzas to a page. Many of these crisply depict images from the year that Matthew or Mrs. Mallory will carry with them through the summer months: The giant lollipops that sit in a mug on the school secretary’s desk, the classroom clock that scratches the minutes by, the BZZZZZZZ of the final final bell. Gustavson’s realistic illustrations resemble oil paintings, and include many evocative details. (Picture book. 7-9)
