Books to relieve the back-to-school jitters

REVIEWS BY KATIE LEWIS

At any age, heading back to school after a relaxing summer vacation can seem like a chore. With lessons about being yourself, making friends, finding joy in small things and dealing with the unexpected, these books will light up faces and excite readers for the new school year.

Tangled web

Sam is at a new school and looking to make friends in a hurry. To do so, he tells his classmates fantastic stories about his astronaut father and the eating habits of aliens. Trouble is, Sam's chitchat isn't true! Sam is caught between a rock and a hard place, wanting to be truthful but afraid of what his friends will think of his fibs. Sam Tells Stories is a lesson about the difference between storytelling and lying, and it sets a good example for imaginative kids without discouraging their creativity: Sam learns when to use his talent of weaving tales (telling bedtime stories to his little brother) and when to just be himself (with his new, accepting friends). The Belgian duo of Thierry Robberecht and Philippe Goossens have created another sweet story featuring the main character from Sam Is Never Scared. Goossens' warm and fuzzy illustrations are a winning element in this tale about the downfall of tall tales.


Dino-mite

Dinosaurs are Harry's security blanket, and he takes them everywhere with him—even to his first day of school. When he must leave his toys in the coatroom during class, he feels as though he has lost his best friends. He doesn't think that he'll like school very much without his dinosaurs by his side—that is, until he notices a very shy boy who has been devoted to a bulldozer all day. Harry befriends Jack by telling him all about his dinosaurs, and Jack lets Stegosaurus ride in his bulldozer. Ian Whybrow's Harry and the Dinosaurs Go to School is a story sure to comfort little ones with qualms about heading off to their own first day of school. Adrian Reynolds' cheerful illustrations bring Harry's dinosaurs to life as they serve as a springboard for a new friendship between Harry and Jack.


Yowza! Learning!

Interjections abound in Robert Neubecker's books, and this time around it's Wow! School!. Izzy travels down the mountain to attend school and is rewarded with books, lunch, music and more. Who knew that school could be such fun? Excitement is created not only by Neubecker's story—Izzy's activity and enthusiasm are infectious—but more importantly through his drawings. Big, bright and bold, the artwork in Wow! School! is what makes the book exhilarating. Children will enjoy the details, always finding something new inside the classroom or out in the schoolyard. The book is also a great learning tool, full of colors, numbers, letters and shapes.


On the menu

The latest from Newbery Honor winner Jennifer L. Holm is a seventh-grader's overly dramatic account of a new school year. A scrapbook of candy wrappers, instant messages, postcards and receipts helps to convey the story of Ginny Davis' middle school trials. Middle School Is Worse than Meatloaf is at the same time both comical and insightful. Ginny writes haikus about meatloaf and an essay about her father's death. Holm, who collaborates on the graphic novel series Babymouse with her brother Matthew, smoothly unites the various liberating and devastating events of an awkward time of life to accurately portray the inner and outer turmoil endured by adolescents. As Ginny's story concludes, we find that perhaps middle school isn't so bad—after all, it ends eventually.


© 2007 ProMotion, inc.