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THE TOUR AT SCHOOL

Name: THE TOUR AT SCHOOL
Author: Katie Clapham
ISBN: 9781536242980

by Katie Clapham ; illustrated by Nadia Shireen ‧ RELEASE DATE: July 1, 2025

An empathetic, child-friendly approach to conquering new-school jitters.

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A child leads a new student around school.

“When you show a New Person around, it’s called giving them The Tour,” says a bespectacled child with black hair in two braids who’s doing the “really important job” of helping a recent arrival feel welcome. The protagonist starts on an appropriately high-energy note (“You have to sound really excited so they feel like it’s going to be an INCREDIBLE tour”). Our narrator knows what truly matters and begins with the most important place: the bathroom. Of course, the two stop by all the best spots, like the playground and the library. Our gentle, sensitive guide takes care to introduce the other child to friends while also intervening when the newcomer feels overwhelmed. Readers, too, will feel like they’re a part of things as the narrator shares funny asides, like how the bathroom is a great place to sing (“the echo is…AMAZING-ZING-ZING!”), and reminisces about the time a lost dog appeared on the playground. The appealing, colorful illustrations feature children with rounded, oversize heads, simple features, and expressive eyes; many of the places and objects will be familiar to school-age readers. This wonderfully multifaceted story will be meaningful both to kids starting at a new school and to teachers looking for a way to help welcome a new student. The two main characters are brown-skinned; their community is diverse.

An empathetic, child-friendly approach to conquering new-school jitters. (Picture book. 4-7)

Pub Date: July 1, 2025

ISBN: 9781536242980

Page Count: 40

Publisher: Candlewick

Review Posted Online: March 22, 2025

Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2025

Categories:

CHILDREN'S SOCIAL THEMES

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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

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

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

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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)