“School’s First Day of School”

Although most children don’t want to think about school in the middle of the summer, a new book by author Adam Rex and illustrator Christian Robinson titled “School’s First Day of School” might appeal to children just entering kindergarten or first grade.

What is so different about this book about school is that it is  told from the perspective of the school building itself.  Frederick Douglass Elementary is a new school building.  At first the school’s only occupant was the janitor who was getting the school ready for the first day.  The janitor explained to the school that soon the building will be filled with teachers and students.  The school was apprehensive about the children who would be coming.  The janitor tried to assure the school that school would like the children.  School was not so sure.

And so they came.  Opening the doors, drinking at the fountains, playing on the jungle gyms.  All through that first day, school experiences what the children do.  Some children didn’t want to be there; some played mean jokes on one another, some squirted milk during lunch.  But as the day progressed, school listened to the teachers and began to learn about shapes and colors and all sorts of things.  As the day ends, the janitor and school find themselves together again.  School has learned a lot, especially how lucky school is to be a school.

Christian Robinson’s illustrations reflex the school’s students. They are from a variety of ethnic and racial backgrounds.   The drawings done using acrylic paint and collage techniques are simple, using basic shapes. These child-like drawings help draw the reader into this story about new beginnings.