Tom Goes to Kindergarten - Hardcover

Wild, Margaret; Shanahan, Denise

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0807580120 ISBN 13: 9780807580127

Publisher: Albert Whitman & Co, 2000

Synopsis

When Tom arrives for his first day of kindergarten, he realizes that he doesn't want his parents to leave, so Daddy, Mommy, and Baby stay with him and have a rollicking good time, but when they want to come back, Tom's teacher tells them kindergarten is only for children!

About this title

From Publishers Weekly

Legge's (Bamboozled) fun-filled watercolors are as infectious as Australian author Wild's lively tale of a young panda's first day of school. Tom's parents are always too busy working to play monsters or astronauts with him. But on the first day of kindergarten, when Tom won't let go of his parents' legs and his teacher invites his parents and Baby to stay and play, they join right in. They listen to a story, play dress up, paint pictures and build castles in the sandbox. By day two, Tom is ready to be independent, but his parents want to stay. As Tom's mother reluctantly goes home to wash the windows and weed the garden, and his father heads to the office to "sign a lot of papers," even Tom feels sorry for them. Illustrations of the papa panda wearing a newspaper hat and a fish tie while dancing a sailor's hornpipe in his office will tickle youngsters' funny bones, as will Legge's inspired portrayal of the grown panda bears enthusiastically singing "I'm a little teapot short and stout." This humorous story about adults rediscovering the satisfaction of creative play will likely allay any anxieties children may have about starting kindergarten. Ages 4-6. (Apr.)
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From School Library Journal

PreSchool-Grade 2-Tom can't wait to join the cubs building spaceships and making monsters in kindergarten. When the big day arrives, however, the young panda suddenly finds he doesn't want his parents and Baby to leave him, and his understanding teacher, Mrs. Polar Bear, invites the whole family to spend the day. Tom's parents have such fun playing dress-up, painting pictures, singing "I'm a Little Teapot," and listening to stories that they arrive early the next morning and plan to stay. Mrs. Polar Bear pointedly asks, "Don't you have to go to work?" Sadly they do, but they manage to find ways to carry a little kindergarten excitement into their daily routines. Large, bright, whimsical watercolors make this a perfect book both for group storytelling and for one-on-one sharing. Readers will enjoy discovering the many humorous details, like the bottle of "Hienz Bamboo Sauce" in the pandas' kitchen and Baby's stuffed toy-not a teddy bear, but a human child. A happy, exuberant addition to any picture-book collection.
Ginny Gustin, Sonoma County Library System, Santa Rosa, CA
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.

About this edition

• Publisher: Albert Whitman & Co
• Publication date: 2000
• ISBN 10: 0807580120
• ISBN 13: 9780807580127
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 32
• Editor: McClure Wendy
• Illustrator: Legge David