WHEN IT’S THE LAST DAY OF SCHOOL

A little jet fuel to prepare young readers for the last day of school. Here’s a welcome relief from all those titles aimed at soothing the tremors that accompany the first day of school; now it’s the last day of school and the aim is to keep the lid on until the last bell and atone for all the mischief of the preceding ten months. James, the class cutup, runs down the list of things he will and will not do on the last day of school. No multiple trips to the bathroom, no dawdling at the janitor’s office on the way back, no grimacing at the lunch offerings, or showing “Tiffany Primrose how I can burp and talk at the same time.” He will, however, do his work on time, buff his desk until it glows, and “give Mrs. Bremwood my strongest hug ever.” Wakiyama’s demonstrative, electric artwork conveys all of James high-octane promises in a story that radiates the lighter side—or anyway more rascally side—of schooling. (Picture book. 4-6)