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Books of this type can be useful to mentally prepare young kids for school, and even when your child is already of age she may enjoy the reassurance she gets from a book that mirrors her experience. The pictures in this book are somewhat engaging, they're done in crayons which is sort of a clever choice for a book about kindergarten, right? And many of the drawings are kind of childlike, such as the houses, which is fun. But after the first observations I started finding the book only moderately inspired, or even useful. For instance, how realistic is it that a kindergartner on his first day will get escorted by his second grader sister only, to a school he's never visited before? And, isn't that sort of a thing of the past that kindergartners have an imagination (dress-up) station in their classroom, that they get to play with blocks, or play-doh, or make food? It seems to me that art class is not exactly a given in elementary school nowadays, nor is necessarily the library, or a music room, or a gym, these are things that some better off schools may be provide, but far from most. Oh, and by the way, I'm sure you're not allowed to keep the library books "practically forever"! And in my kindergartner's class, if you touch your friends during circle time, like Dexter and his class mates are doing in the pictures, you're in big trouble. Also, I don't think the custodians are wiping up spills for you with a smile on their face. My five year old once dropped his sandwich on the ground when someone bumped into him at school and the custodian sent him to the principal's office claiming he must have done it on purpose. So, kindergarten is great, but let's keep it real and don't give our kids the wrong ideas. And no, you can not bring your toys to school, even not your stuffed animals! ( )

Age 4-6
Pierce county library
A boy hesitating to go to school. The older sister shares her experiences about going to Kindergarten. The boy learned it not so bad going to kindergarten.

Dexter is pretty confident about entering kindergarten - at least he seems that way on the outside. But little clues along the way tell us that he's really not so sure. For example, his stuffed dog, Rufus, is "a bit scared" and worried he'll get lost. Who do we think is really worried: Rufus or Dexter? Dexter!

As he gets ready, he talks with his sister everything, and she assures him that everything will be fine. So it's a relief when we see him on the first day: fitting in, playing happily, and finding that even something like spilled milk is not a problem! The best part of his day? Going to the library, where he can "borrow a whole books all about shark guts or outer space and keep it practically forever." Yay!

Great book to read during the first week of kindergarten. Students can see how much fun kindergarten is going to be! It relieves them of some of their fears of going to school!