You're Wearing THAT to School?! - Hardcover

Lynn Plourde (www.lynnplourde.com) has had nearly thirty picture books published., including Wild Child and School Picture Day. She considers herself a "teaching author," because she makes so many visits to schools to teach kids how to become better writers. She worked for 21 years as a speech-language therapist in public schools and is the author of ten educational books. As a child (and working adult) she always loved going to school, though she found it difficult to sleep the night before the first day, because she was anxious to start each year off right. This story is also an outgrowth of her obsession with the TLC make-over show What Not to Wear. She enjoys snowshoeing, kayaking, and reading in Maine, where she would love to have a good reason to wear a feather boa on occasion.
Sue Cornelison (www.suecornelison) has illustrated several books for children, including The Twelve Days of Christmas in Iowa; Inch and Mile: The Journey to Success: and the Howard B. Wigglebottom Series. She studied art at Drake University in Iowa and the International School of Studio Art in Florence, Italy. She married jazz musician Ross Cornelison and together they rasied a family of six children in a small rural townwhile fixing up a 100-year-old Victorian house.

PreS-Gr 1-This gentle picture book delivers its message with a minimum of didacticism. Outgoing, optimistic, and original, Penelope, a hippo, is excited about starting school. Her retiring friend Tiny, a mouse, is a pessimistic first-grader determined to prevent what he expects would be gaffes on her first day. Penelope plans to wear her favorite outlandish outfit, bring her well-worn stuffed toy for show-and-tell, and pack a picnic lunch. Tiny quashes her cheerful plans, dialing her down to jeans and a T-shirt, a rock, and PB&J. Undeterred, the hippo ignores Tiny's advice and shows up at the bus stop dressed as she originally planned. At school, they separate, rejoining for lunch. The lunchroom doors open in a double gatefold to reveal a blanket full of kindergarteners of various species, all sporting wild outfits and eating picnic food. (Some "stuffies" are in evidence as well.) Penelope declares the first day of school fun, and Tiny agrees. The text reads aloud smoothly, with Tiny's repeated, dismayed "Oh, no, no!" inviting participation. The brightly colored cartoon animals are appealingly cuddly looking. Pictorial thought bubbles are an effective device, and exuberant Penelope tends to fill full-color single pages and spreads. Cornelison is a master of facial expressions, displaying the characters' emotions for all to see. "Tips for a Hippo Happy First Day of School" are appended. Although plenty of starting-school books are available, this is a pleasant addition where more are needed.-Amy Lilien-Harper, The Ferguson Library, Stamford, CTα(c) Copyright 2013. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.