OFF TO FIRST GRADE
by Louise Borden & illustrated by Joan Rankin
From Anna to Mr. Zimmerman, an alphabetical array of children, joined at the appropriate moments by their teacher, bus driver and principal, all recount the beginning of the first day of first grade. Borden’s free-verse poems take the voices of each character in turn, gracefully drawing 26 distinct characters, most eager but a few somewhat apprehensive: “I wish I was going / back to kindergarten. / But I don’t tell my dad,” confesses Yoshi. Rankin’s loose, amiable watercolors depict a zooful of critters and their families with warmth and affection. An altogether thoughtful and affirming book. (Picture book. 5-8)