Brand-new Pencils, Brand-new Books (Gilbert the Opossum) - Hardcover

Degroat, Diane

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 006072613X ISBN 13: 9780060726133

Publisher: HarperCollins, 2005

Synopsis

It's the first day of first grade! Gilbert is excited and nervous at the same time. He has new school supplies -- but he'll also get a new teacher, and new kids in his class. Will the teacher be nice? Will Patti still be his best friend?

In this humorous and reassuring story by Diane deGroat, Gilbert learns that first grade is not what he had expected. Lewis is a bully, and Philip already knows how to read big fat books! But Mrs. Byrd is nice, and she helps Gilbert discover that everyone has his or her own special talent.

About this title

About the Author:

Diane deGroat has illustrated more than one hundred and twenty books for children. Last One in Is a Rotten Egg! is the tenth book in the award-winning Gilbert series that she has written as well as illustrated.

From Publishers Weekly:

In this prequel to deGroat's series of Gilbert tales (Happy Birthday to You, You Belong in a Zoo), the earnest young opossum survives—quite easily—his first day of first grade. As in the earlier stories, the author convincingly exposes her hero's emotions, which here are in tune with those experienced by any fledgling first grader. Gilbert is fearful that his teacher won't be nice and, in the classroom, he is embarrassed when he sits at the wrong desk and, at lunch, is afraid that he'll get sent to the principal if he doesn't eat his food. The narrative incorporates some equally true-to-life incidents that would comfort a new student (e.g., sitting by himself in the cafeteria, Gilbert is finally joined by a boy who has "the exact same Martian Space Pilot lunchbox" as he does). And deGroat reassuringly reveals that nobody is good at everything (Philip can read but can't climb a ladder at recess, and Lewis, a good climber, clumsily spills paint on his desk). Perhaps due to its lower-key setting (other capers have Halloween and Valentine's Day themes), this has less spark and wit than some of its predecessors. DeGroat's cheerful art serves up endearing portraits of Gilbert, though several of the busier scenes appear curiously washed out. Ages 4-8. (July)
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About this edition

• Publisher: HarperCollins
• Publication date: 2005
• ISBN 10: 006072613X
• ISBN 13: 9780060726133
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 32
• Illustrator: Degroat Diane