Emily the gray bunny, star of Emily’s First 100 Days of School (2000), returns as the main character of this month-by-month look at the kindergarten school year. Emily and her friends have the same understanding teacher, Miss Cribbage, so this volume appears to be a prequel to the previous Emily story. In this work, each spread covers a different aspect of life at school or home, including all sorts of basic information that kindergarten children might learn, from obvious lessons on letters, numbers, science, and music to more subtle wisdom, such as thinking globally (singing a peace song) and acting locally (buying jam from a local producer). All the familiar elements of the school day and school year are included, but the unflappable Miss Cribbage wins extra points as a wise teacher for also taking her students out into the world, to clean up the beach and visit their special friends at a retirement home. Wells continues to create appealing animal characters with endearing expressions, charming clothing, and irresistible personalities. She also shows great empathy toward the emotional lives of young children and respect for the transformative power of parents, teachers, and communities. (Picture book. 4-6)
