Going to Big School (Laura Sieveking, illus by Danielle McDonald, Scholastic)
Appealing to a diverse readership, Going to Big School inhabits the viewpoints of two children, Ava and Jack, on their first day at school. With contrasting personalities, Ava and Jack are two very different children. Ava is excited about her new adventure, while Jack is nervous. She has butterflies in her tummy but he has moths. Ava wants to be a leader, Jack is overwhelmed by the cacophony. Fortunately, their kind teacher recognises Jack’s shyness and confides that she is also nervous. Ava plays with him, which puts him at ease, and they are friends by day’s end. Laura Sieveking and Danielle McDonald have previously collaborated on the popular Ella at Eden series and other chapter books, but in this new picture book McDonald lets loose with bright colours and plenty of action to celebrate a formative but possibly daunting milestone. Books about starting school are useful Christmas-stocking fillers to help prepare young children for ‘big school’—two of the best are both titled Starting School, one by Janet and Allan Ahlberg, the other by Jane Godwin and Anna Walker. While not yet a classic like these two, Going to Big School energetically supplements this body of work.
Joy Lawn has worked for independent bookshops and blogs at Paperbark Words.
