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This School Year Will Be the Best!

by Kay Winters
32p. 978-0-52542-775-4.
COPY ISBN
K-Gr 3—In this ode to the school year, children will delight in discovering the wishes of a class of students for the days ahead. On the very first day, the teacher asks her students to share a hope for the year. These are printed in varying fonts and range from the expected, "I'll look good in my school picture" to the fantastical, "We'll have a chocolate fountain at lunch!" Readers will recognize their own experiences in dreams that reflect kicking the ball into the right goal, of not being a vegetable in the school play, and of making friends. Each time a hope is expressed, the font switches, ranging from script to bold and block letters. Each hope (20 in all) is illustrated with whimsy and movement. Pair this book with Jamie Harper's Miss Mingo and the First Day of School (Candlewick, 2006) for a read-aloud that sets a fun tone for the year.—Stacy Dillon, LREI, New York City
On the first day of school, the teacher asks: "What do you hope will happen this year?" The kids provide some humorous responses. Accompanying illustrations expand upon each request; e.g., a wish for "a field trip to someplace really cool" is shown as a trip to an anti-gravity chamber. It's an entertaining and reassuring presentation.
Reviewed by Stacy Dillon , Aug 01, 2010

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