I Am Not Going to School Today!

I liked this book. I think it does a good job of depicting a child’s apprehensions about his or her very first day of school. I liked the fact that, according to the child, it is completely up to him whether or not he goes to school. And the fact that he states he is not going, and then follows his parents out the door, is a very good picture of the mind of the average child. As far as complete accuracy goes, I’m not sure most kids would actually think about the locations of crayons and cubbies before they enter kindergarten, unless of course the child has already had some sort of experience in a classroom, whether at church or in a daycare or preschool. I liked Hank, and how important it was to the child to have something familiar like Hank in a new environment. Children may not be able to pinpoint their fears into cubbies and crayons, but they do understand quite well how strange it is to be in a new environment all alone, with little around them that they recognize. I also liked how the pictures added to the character of the parents, giving us a glimpse of what may be going on in their heads when their son so decisively states that he will not be attending school.