NEVER SPIT ON YOUR SHOES

Arnie, a puppy, tells his mother about the first day of school. The two appear, with the text, in a cozy inset showing them snacking at home, while the rest of each double-spread is wide open to the chaos that occurred in First grade, where a plump hippo presides over a mÉlange of unruly little animals: a goose who drinks from the fish bowl with a straw; a little bull who suggests the title as a good rule while a cat proclaims, ""Just say no to catnip""; and pigs who forage in the garbage. Kids should love exploring the illustrations for more beginning school mayhem, which is exaggerated only in that it all happens on the same day and made even more comic by the delicious expressions on the characters' faces.