How to Get Your Teacher Ready

May 15, 2017
“You’re ready for the first day of school. But what about your teacher?” Having previously explored how to take care of moms, dads, and grandparents, Reagan and Wildish zip readers through a school year’s worth of advice, from making sure that one’s teacher is prepared for school picture day (“Remind your teacher, ‘No messy snacks’ ”) to handing her a favorite book to read when things don’t go as planned. Wildish’s vivid palette and cast of round-headed kids and adults emphasize the chaos and camaraderie of the classroom, and Reagan’s enthusiastic narrative essentially makes school feel like one big party. Ages 4–8. Author’s agent: Jamie Weiss Chilton, Andrea Brown Literary. Illustrator’s agent: Vicki Willden-Lebrecht, Bright Literary.

June 1, 2017
After all the school-supply shopping and the back-to-school night, students are ready for their first days of school, but what about their teachers? In this primer, Reagan and Wildish (How to Raise a Mom, 2017, etc.) teach kids how to make their teachers feel welcome in their classrooms and how to ease their fears about the first day and the many special days sprinkled throughout the calendar. It's a clever ruse that just may work on those kids who are very nervous--after all, easing someone else's fears often soothes one's own, not to mention the fact that by going through the school day and year, the book is prepping readers for what they can expect. From greeting your teacher with a big smile and putting on a smock in the art room to combing your hair and avoiding messy snacks on picture day and counting to 100 many ways on the 100th day, the basics are all covered. Wildish's teacher is a white woman with brown hair, her class a mix of genders and skin and hair colors; one child sports glasses. Vignette, full-, and double-page illustrations against solid or simple backgrounds keep the focus on what children can expect at school, though emotion tends to be rather one-note (happy) and the kids lack the individual personalities of those in Deborah Lee Rose and Carey Armstong-Ellis' The Twelve Days of Kindergarten. A clever way to ensure everyone is ready for the first day. (Picture book. 4-7)

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August 1, 2017

PreS-Gr 2-The sweetness of this book will entice readers young and old. Reagan provides guides to basic school rules, celebrations like 100 Days and class plays, and even the bittersweet moment of moving up a grade. These are meant to put kids at ease with school situations and let them know they're not alone. As the most recent edition in the "How To..." series, this book plays to adult readers, amusing parents, while giving kids a light structure for their student experience, and reflecting gently but profoundly on the special role that teachers play in their students lives. Though the flow of the book is a bit unfamiliar-definitely a "how to" rather than a narrative-it is an effective method to build empathy and appreciation for the formative day-to-day work of educators. Wildish's illustrations are soft, expressive, full of hugs and smiles and silly faces, and add to the light and upbeat tone. Missteps like a thin-lined font choice and an oddly light hand on character faces distract from but don't derail the experience. VERDICT A tender read-together for an early elementary or pre-K audience, this is a surprisingly thoughtful read for parents and teachers to share and discuss with children.-Emilia Packard, Austin, TX

Copyright 2017 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.