Go Home, Mrs. Beekman!
Kindergarten-Grade 2—Emily is heading off for her first day of school, and she insists that her mother stays with her. "Forever!" "I promise….And a promise is a promise. I'll stay at school for a million gazillion years with my Emily right on my lap." Mrs. Beekman is true to her word. Even when her daughter discovers that school is actually a fun place, the woman won't leave. Teacher Sue nicely but firmly insists repeatedly that it's time for all adults to go home, but Mrs. Beekman is not deterred. She resorts to disguising herself as a coatrack and, on subsequent days, as a big purple hat, green dog, yellow bird, and oversize hula hoop. Finally, Emily kindly convinces her mother that she wants to be in school by herself. Careful readers will note that Mrs. Beekman's disguises match items Emily mentions in the book's first pages. The illustrations work perfectly with the text. The characters' facial expressions are spot-on, and Carrington captures the feel of kindergarten, the love between Emily and her mother, and a child's first steps toward independence. This enjoyable if slightly familiar tale would work well for one-on-one sharing or storytime.—Catherine Callegari, Gay-Kimball Library, Troy, NHCopyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.