This School Year Will Be the BEST!
On the first day of school, the teacher gathers her students into a circle to share their wishes for the coming year. Some are negative (“I won’t be a vegetable in our school play”), some rosy (“I’ll look good in my school picture”), and some perhaps overly optimistic (“We’ll have SKATEBOARD DAY”), but as a group, they reflect a great many facets of the elementary-school experience. The text concludes with the teacher’s wish to “get to know each one of you,” which falls a bit flat. The final, wordless double-page spread, with happy children holding crayon pictures emblematic of their wishes, creates a more satisfying ending for this picture book. And, in the classroom, it could lead straight into the year’s first art project. The short text leaves plenty of space for Andriani to work in, and she uses it imaginatively, creating upbeat and sometimes comical ink-and-wash illustrations. A good discussion starter for the beginning of the school year. Grades K-2. --Carolyn Phelan--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.