Countdown to Kindergarten

Reading level: Baby-Preschool
Hardcover: 32 pages
Publisher: Silver Whistle (August 1, 2002)
Language: English
ISBN: 0152025162

Buy book from:
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Reviews

"In this witty children's debut, novelist McGhee (Rainlight) combines a puckishly structured counting book like Peggy Rathmann's Ten Minutes Till Bedtime with an amiable exploration of new-school anxiety. Bliss (Which Would You Rather Be?) makes skillful use of voice bubbles and cartoon gestures, surrounding the narrator with a teddy bear, a rag doll and a sympathetic, precocious tabby that recalls the bookish dog he created for A Fine, Fine School. Subtle details surface with every rereading." - Publishers Weekly

"The sly humor in both the first-person narrative and the speech-balloon comments is amplified in the expressive, ink-and-watercolor illustrations by New Yorker cartoonist Bliss. The deadpan and (occasionally) over-the-top wit makes this a terrific choice for reading aloud. And even if young children won't get the reference to Phoebe Caulfield for another dozen years, it won't diminish their empathy for the child's anxiety, their pleasure in her relief, or their enjoyment of this funny picture book." - Booklist.

Excerpts

It's just ten days before kindergarten, and this little girl has heard all there is to know--from a first grader--about what it's going to be like. You can't bring your cat, you can't bring a stuffed animal, and the number one rule? You can't ask anyone for help. Ever. So what do you do when your shoes come untied, if you're the only one in the class who doesn't know how to tie them up again?

Told with gentle humor by Alison McGhee and brought to exuberant life by New Yorker cartoonist Harry Bliss, this lighthearted take on pre-kindergarten anxiety will bring a smile to the face of every child--and parent--having first-day jitters.