FROWNS

Pattison’s picture-book story about the first day of school is told almost entirely via nouns and adjectives.

The story, like the title, begins with a frown as a child, Jo (who has pale skin and brown hair), gets off the bus on a very rainy day. Down a long, long hall and through a tall, tall door is Jo’s brand-new classroom. The one friendly child there, Bo (who has tan skin and brown hair),shows Jo the ropes, helping through classes and lunch. When they make it to recess, Jo begins to smile; when two sneaky verbs intrude into the narrative and are sent home by a referee (“Verbs! No Verbs! Red card!”), Jo and Bo both laugh. Jo helps Bo with some spelling, and soon the day is over. Jo nervously waits for a parent to show up until Mom finally appears. Pattison’s text is optimized to get the most meaning across with the fewest words. This approach means the story relies heavily on Joven’s illustrations to move the action forward (especially since verbs are not allowed). The accessible vocabulary and the digital cartoon images match perfectly in tone, and Jo’s anxiety about being new is very relatable. The design elements for the text are also helpful for emergent readers: Nouns are primarily written in blue, adjectives in black, and the verbs are in hot pink.

An entertaining look at starting a new school and some foundational parts of speech.