Product Description

It's just ten days before kindergarten, and this little girl has heard all there is to know--from a first grader--about what it's going to be like. You can't bring your cat, you can't bring a stuffed animal, and the number one rule? You can't ask anyone for help. Ever. So what do you do when your shoes come untied, if you're the only one in the class who doesn't know how to tie them up again? Told with gentle humor by Alison McGhee and brought to exuberant life by New Yorker cartoonist Harry Bliss, this lighthearted take on pre-kindergarten anxiety will bring a smile to the face of every child--and parent--having first-day jitters.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #1794924 in Books
• Published on: 2002-07-20
• Original language: English
• Dimensions: .35" h x 8.72" w x 11.36" l, .88 pounds
• Binding: Hardcover
• 32 pages

From Publishers Weekly
Ten days before kindergarten starts, a dark-haired girl wakes up in a panic. "I've heard from a first grader that they have a lot of rules there," she confides, locking eyes with the audience. "You have to know how to tie your shoes. By yourself." Days nine, eight, seven and so on bring various shoelace disasters. The girl tangles the laces around her cat by accident; she drenches them with syrup on purpose. At dinner, her father jokes, "How's your bowl of shoelaces I mean spaghetti?" If all the girl's fears are for naught, at least they provide her with a conversation opener: at kindergarten, she commiserates with one, then two, then three new friends who can't tie their shoes either. In this witty children's debut, novelist McGhee (Rainlight) combines a puckishly structured counting book like Peggy Rathmann's Ten Minutes Till Bedtime with an amiable exploration of new-school anxiety. Bliss (Which Would You Rather Be?) makes skillful use of voice bubbles and cartoon gestures, surrounding the narrator with a teddy bear, a rag doll and a sympathetic, precocious tabby that recalls the bookish dog he created for A Fine, Fine School. Subtle details surface with every rereading. Ages 3-7.
Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

From School Library Journal
reSchool-K-Through the grapevine, an about-to-be kindergartner learns that there are lots of rules at school. Rules #3 and #2 prevent students from bringing stuffed animals or their cats to class. Rule #1 is a bit more serious. "You have to know how to tie your shoes. By yourself. You're not allowed to ask for help. Ever." Even a child who can count backward from 10 or feed her cat by herself can feel inadequate. As the 10 days before school wind down, she worries that she will be labeled "Velcro Girl" and finds endless ways to cover the gap in her skills through the destruction of her shoes and/or laces. Bliss presents the heroine with large-eyed innocence and humorous details. The pace varies nicely with changes in font size, full- and partial-page illustrations, speech balloons, and a daily countdown toward the big day. A strong dose of adult patience and a bit of peer support round out this youngster's first educational challenge.
Mary Elam, Forman Elementary School, Plano, TX
Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

From AudioFile
Does anyone except the heroine know about Kindergarten Rule Number One? (Tie your shoes by yourself!) Does anyone care that the heroine CANNOT tie her shoes but CAN count backwards from 10? The days before the start of school are anguishing as one horrible event after another is imagined. Mom and Dad reassure cheerfully, but the time to walk into the classroom arrives too soon. Rachael Lillis narrates with the straightforward verve of a 5-year-old. Her anguish and quiet despair are palpable. Echoing sound effects underscore the relentless countdown, and background conversations underscore the humor. A.R. © AudioFile 2004, Portland, Maine-- Copyright © AudioFile, Portland, Maine