First Day Jitters
Written by Julie Danneberg
Illustrated by Judy Love
Reviewed by Katie F. (age 9) & Gina G. (age 8)
"Sarah, dear, time to get out of bed," Mr. Hartwell said, poking his head through the bedroom doorway. You don't want to mis the first day at your new school do you?? "I'm not going, said Sarah, and pulled the covers over her head." As you heard, Sarah Jane Hartwell does not want to go to school, but she ends up having to go anyway. Did you ever have first day jitters? She meets her principal and she shows Sarah to her new classroom. You will have to read the book to find out how Sarah's first day at her new school was.
I (Katie) love this book because of the creative illustrations. I (Katie) like when Mr. Hartwell said, "Sarah Jane Hartwell, I'm not playing this silly game one second longer. I'll see you downstairs in five minutes." It reminds me of when my mom wakes me up for school in the morning. My mom always says, "Katie, wake up. I'm starting the car and you better be in it in five minutes!" I (Gina) loved this book because I enjoy reading books with surprise endings. I (Gina) loved the part when Sarah said, "My head hurts." She said it so she wouldn't have to go to school. This reminds me of the times I (Gina) tell my mom that my head hurts so I won't have to go to school. Sometimes, my mom believes me and other times she knows I'm faking.
We recommend this book to readers that have jitters on the first day of school and readers who love surprise endings. If your favorite type of book is a picture book, you'll definitely be glad that you picked this one to read.