If You're Not Here, Please Raise Your Hand

This is a book for kids who wish they were jumping in leaf piles and climbing trees instead of learning their multiplication tables. It's for kids who worry that they'll never make it out of third grade, or that the other kids will make fun of them, or that their best will never be good enough. Messy desks, forgotten homework, embarrassing hiccups, favorite teachers—they're all here in these silly, sad, and funny poems. Kalli Dakos blends clever wit and insight with her experience as a former elementary reading specialist to make poetry fun and accessible to young children. The voices of three unique and talented narrators capture that school-related fun, fantasy, and fear that never truly ends for anyone who has ever lived the school experience.