I Got the School Spirit

June 1, 2020
A great prescription for kids who tremble at the thought of their first day of school. A young African American girl with deep brown skin, round cheeks, and an infectious smile spends her first day of school celebrating spirit in many ways. With her hair in two gigantic puffballs, she shows her school spirit with snazzy shoes ("STOMP, STOMP!"), her backpack ("ZIP, ZIP!"), and her "loud...clear" singing in class ("ABC, 123!"). Her spirit surfaces in onomatopoeic words on nearly every double-page spread, contributing to the high energy of the story. Morrison's vibrant oil paintings, reminiscent of those by artist and NFL player Ernie Barnes, feature close-up perspectives of the little girl and everyone she encounters while they reveal lots of diversity both in her neighborhood and at school. She even has a black male teacher--a rare demographic in American elementary schools--who captivates his class during storytime. Like its predecessors, I Got the Rhythm(2014) and I Got the Christmas Spirit (2018), this picture book establishes a sentence pattern that persists, one that will help nascent readers predict what comes next. Each line begins with a personal pronoun and an active-voice verb--"I share," "I breathe," "we sing," etc.--that exudes this protagonist's enthusiasm for school. If a school pep rally could walk and talk, this kid would be it. (Picture book. 4-8)

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May 1, 2020
Preschool-G The husband-and-wife team that created I Got the Rhythm (2014) and I Got the Christmas Spirit (2018) return with another adorable installment in their picture-book series. Starring the same apple-cheeked African American girl, her hair drawn in her signature poofs, this story follows her through her first day of school after summer break, starting with brushing her teeth and getting dressed. The double-page spreads are filled with gorgeous, lifelike illustrations?created with colorful oil paints on canvas?that burst with the girl's enthusiasm and movements. Each spread features a simple sentence (e.g., I slip on the spirit in my shiny new shoes ) with an accompanying sound effect ( STOMP, STOMP! ) that makes reading aloud especially fun. Young children will relate to the girl's anxieties and excitement over for familiar school experiences as she goes through the day, passing her infectious, upbeat spirit to classmates in the process. This joyful offering will be a happy addition to any shelf of back-to-school stories or books dealing with first-day jitters.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2020, American Library Association.)

June 15, 2020
The vivacious African American protagonist from I Got the Rhythm and I Got the Christmas Spirit returns in this ebullient follow-up, embarking on the first day of school with optimism and oomph. She discovers—and exudes—spirit at every turn, beginning at home (“I slip on the spirit in my shiny new shoes. STOMP, STOMP!” writes Schofield-Morrison) and continuing in the classroom (“We sing the spirit loud and clear. ABC, 123!”) and on the playground, where she finds a ball (“I kick the spirit high up in the air. KA-POW!”). At day’s end, she encounters a quieter and deeper spirit when she climbs off the school bus and into her mother’s open arms: “I feel the spirit in a big ol’ hug. SQUISH, SQUEEZE!” The electric hues, constant motion, and winning smiles that fill Morrison’s oil paintings enhance the boundless vitality of this sensory celebration of school. Ages 3–6.

July 1, 2020

K-Gr 2-A confident African American girl with two fuzzy ponytails prepares for the first day of school. "I slip on the spirit in my shiny new shoes. STOMP, STOMP!" Eating breakfast, waiting for the bus, comforting a nervous friend, standing straight and tall for attendance, and kicking the ball with super strength at recess are showcased in illustrations of the smiling, wide-eyed, energetic girl. The first-person narrative punctuated by stylized colorful sound words-"zip, zip!" and "Ka-pow!"-adds to the liveliness of the school day, which finishes with the open arms of her mother for a "squish, squeeze!" Realistic oil paintings depict a diverse cast of school classmates and a positive view of the school experience. VERDICT This cheerful and energetic story depicts a girl preparing for and embracing school spirit on her first day and will be a welcome addition for most collections.-Ramarie Beaver, formerly at Plano P.L., TX

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