Saturday, May 16, 2015

First Grade, Here I Come (2015)

First Grade, Here I Come. Tony Johnson. Illustrated by David Walker. 2015. [June] Scholastic. 32 pages. [Source: Review copy]

First sentence: I'm zooming off to first grade now. I need about five friends to play good games like hide-and-sneak and where-the-sidewalk-ends. Then all of us will crouch around like tigers on the prowl. We'll lash our tails and flash our eyes and clash our fangs and growl.

Premise/Plot. A boy shares his excitement about going to first grade. When the book begins, the boy thinks he NEEDS five friends in order to have a good year. By the end of the book, he decides that five isn't enough after all, he WANTS to be friends with everyone. The emphasis in this book is on play--imaginative play. It isn't on learning or sitting still or being obedient and following all the rules. Does the book say the boy has trouble not playing? It doesn't. But I imagine that anyone who LOVES to play that much, would struggle a bit--even if it's a tiny bit--when it was time to work and learn.

My thoughts: I didn't love the text. It was super descriptive, which could be a good thing. But. I am not sure the book flows well--narratively speaking--from page to page and scene to scene. It seemed a bit all over the place. Perhaps reflecting his personality?! That's certainly one way I could interpret it!!! I am not sure how I feel about this one.

Text: 3 out of 5
Illustrations: 3 out of 5
Total: 6 out of 10

© 2015 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

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