KINDERGARTEN DIARY

An exuberant little girl delivers a day-by-day (and sometimes half-day–by–half-day) account of her first month in kindergarten. From apprehension (“I don’t want to go to Big School with big kids. What if they’re mean?”) through acclimation (“Annalina takes too many letters! I’m going to change my name to Anna”) to “Too Busy to Write Any More!” she makes her way with flair. Utilizing the same graphically striking style that has characterized her earlier books, Portis places Anna(lina) and her classmates against a background of super-wide-ruled paper, but she adds color and collage elements to pump up the volume. She includes plenty of humorous touches, too: After the parents are all told to leave, three anxious-looking adults peer through the window at their children, who all look out at the reader, smiling. Friendships bloom, mishaps happen but throughout, “We are fine!” (Picture book. 4-7)