Jake Starts School
PreSchool-Grade 1—The over-the-top humor ofJake Stays Awake(Feiwel & Friends, 2007) continues as Jake begins school. He and his pushover parents end up spending the first day of school trying to share tiny chairs, seesaw rides, and even a tricycle, since Jake will not let go of Mom and Dad. He finally relaxes when the teacher reads a story about a dog named Fred. "I have a dog. His name is Fred," Jake says. Fears forgotten, he walks to the front of the room and holds the book for his teacher. The computer-generated cartoon illustrations are full of unusual angles and bug-eyed, bullet-headed people. The sing-songy rhyming text describes Jake's actions (including passing gas) but never really makes clear why he's so terrified. The story might seem funny to parents or to older children, but is unlikely to reassure the target audience of kids who are just starting school.—Heidi Estrin, Feldman Children's Library at Congregation B'nai Israel, Boca Raton, FLCopyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.--This text refers to theHardcoveredition.