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FISH DON'T GO TO SCHOOL

Name: FISH DON'T GO TO SCHOOL
Author: Deb Pilutti
ISBN: 9780316565271

by Deb Pilutti ; illustrated by Deb Pilutti ‧ RELEASE DATE: July 8, 2025

An offbeat and empathetic take on handling first-day-of-school anxieties.

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Like many kids, Henry wants to wear his favorite outfit on the first day of school.

Unlike other children, however, Henry enjoys wearing an oversize fish costume that makes him look like his beloved goldfish, Marigold. His face peeps through the mask, and the costume contains holes for his legs, but everything else is covered. Despite his parents’ apprehension and his own concerns, Henry goes ahead with his unusual get-up; after all, it feels like “wearing a hug.” No one sits next to Henry at circle time, but things improve as the day progresses. Slowly, he finds himself shedding parts of his costume: He gives a classmate named Lucy his fins so he can more easily use scissors while working on an art project, he lets Mr. Blake hold his tail at recess, and he trades the fish head for Lucy’s cat ears at storytime. Eventually, Henry’s down to just a scaly orange vest, which has become his new treasured item. Pilutti’s understated multimedia illustrations pair well with the text, a mix of narration and realistic dialogue presented in speech bubbles. Laudably, while the adults in Henry’s life express doubts about his wardrobe choices, they give him the space he needs to figure things out; though his journey’s a bit rocky, it comes to a quietly triumphant conclusion. Henry is pale-skinned; his classmates are diverse.

An offbeat and empathetic take on handling first-day-of-school anxieties. (Picture book. 4-7)

Pub Date: July 8, 2025

ISBN: 9780316565271

Page Count: 40

Publisher: Christy Ottaviano Books

Review Posted Online: March 22, 2025

Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2025

Categories:

CHILDREN'S ANIMALS | CHILDREN'S SOCIAL THEMES

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MY BEST FRIEND IS A LION
by Deb Pilutti ; illustrated by Deb Pilutti

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THE DINOSAUR IN THE GARDEN
by Deb Pilutti ; illustrated by Deb Pilutti

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TEN STEPS TO FLYING LIKE A SUPERHERO
by Deb Pilutti ; illustrated by Deb Pilutti

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ON THE FIRST DAY OF KINDERGARTEN

by Tish Rabe ; illustrated by Laura Hughes ‧ RELEASE DATE: June 21, 2016

While this is a fairly bland treatment compared to Deborah Lee Rose and Carey Armstrong-Ellis’ The Twelve Days of...

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Rabe follows a young girl through her first 12 days of kindergarten in this book based on the familiar Christmas carol.

The typical firsts of school are here: riding the bus, making friends, sliding on the playground slide, counting, sorting shapes, laughing at lunch, painting, singing, reading, running, jumping rope, and going on a field trip. While the days are given ordinal numbers, the song skips the cardinal numbers in the verses, and the rhythm is sometimes off: “On the second day of kindergarten / I thought it was so cool / making lots of friends / and riding the bus to my school!” The narrator is a white brunette who wears either a tunic or a dress each day, making her pretty easy to differentiate from her classmates, a nice mix in terms of race; two students even sport glasses. The children in the ink, paint, and collage digital spreads show a variety of emotions, but most are happy to be at school, and the surroundings will be familiar to those who have made an orientation visit to their own schools.

While this is a fairly bland treatment compared to Deborah Lee Rose and Carey Armstrong-Ellis’ The Twelve Days of Kindergarten (2003), it basically gets the job done. (Picture book. 4-7)

Pub Date: June 21, 2016

ISBN: 978-0-06-234834-0

Page Count: 32

Publisher: Harper/HarperCollins

Review Posted Online: May 3, 2016

Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2016

Categories:

CHILDREN'S CONCEPTS | CHILDREN'S SOCIAL THEMES

- BOOK REVIEW
A PERFECT PLACE TO PLAY
by Tish Rabe ; illustrated by Jim Valeri

- BOOK REVIEW
ON THE FIRST DAY OF FIRST GRADE
by Tish Rabe ; illustrated by Sarah Jennings

- BOOK REVIEW
FIVE LITTLE BUNNIES
by Tish Rabe ; illustrated by Dan Yaccarino

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IT'S NOT EASY BEING A GHOST

From the It's Not Easy Being series

by Marilyn Sadler ; illustrated by Stephanie Laberis ‧ RELEASE DATE: Aug. 13, 2024

Too cute to be spooky indeed but most certainly sweet.

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A ghost longs to be scary, but none of the creepy personas she tries on fit.

Misty, a feline ghost with big green eyes and long whiskers, wants to be the frightening presence that her haunted house calls for, but sadly, she’s “too cute to be spooky.” She dons toilet paper to resemble a mummy, attempts to fly on a broom like a witch, and howls at the moon like a werewolf. Nothing works. She heads to a Halloween party dressed reluctantly as herself. When she arrives, her friends’ joyful screams reassure her that she’s great just as she is. Sadler’s message, though a familiar one, is delivered effectively in a charming, ghostly package. Misty truly is too precious to be frightening. Laberis depicts an endearingly spooky, all-animal cast—a frog witch, for instance, and a crocodilian mummy. Misty’s sidekick, a cheery little bat who lends support throughout, might be even more adorable than she is. Though Misty’s haunted house is filled with cobwebs and surrounded by jagged, leafless trees, the charming characters keep things from ever getting too frightening. The images will encourage lingering looks. Clearly, there’s plenty that makes Misty special just as she is—a takeaway that adults sharing the book with their little ones should be sure to drive home.

Too cute to be spooky indeed but most certainly sweet. (Picture book. 4-6)