Going to School

Going to School brilliantly documents a fun filled day in the life of a little girl and her friends as they go to school. At each stage of the day, differences are celebrated and beautifully illustrated. The day begins by travelling to school, by either scooting, walking, or riding and luckily the children arrive just before the school bell rings. We are introduced to Miss Balmer, the teacher, and cots and bags are hung on pegs. By nine o,clock the school day is ready to begin and the register has been taken. The first lesson of the day is geography and the children learn about the world around them and where their friends and families come from. The next lesson is art, a favourite with the children, and they make collages and masks, paint pictures and construct models. At breaktime the children play a variety of games and join in lots of outdoor activities, everyone seems happy and has a friend to play with. After break, there are more lessons - reading, writing and maths. The children enjoy listening to stories where their imaginations are ignited and solving real life number problems. There is just enough time for a P.E. lesson before lunch. ;Lunch is everyones favourite time of the day and with so much to choose from and so many delicious things on the menu, it's difficult to see why not. The afternoon's lessons are science, computing and drama. In the science lesson the children learn about growing and changing, they grow cress and sunflowers and watch the tadpoles in the class tank. The children are able to choose from a variety of activities in their computer lessons and in drama everyone acts out their dream job. At the end of the day, when the little girl is picked up from school and asked what she did today, she responds nonchalantly 'not much'. However, secretly she can't wait to go to school again tomorrow. Rose Blake's beautiful vibrant illustrations bring this story to life, making for a wonderful engaging journey throughout the school day. This is not only the most engaging transition to school book I have read, helping to ease fears before starting school, but also a wonderful depiction of how wonderful school can be. Blake effortlessly represents school as a preparation for later life, as pupils develop independence and practice skills they need to develop for future occupations. There are clues throughout the book to challenge the reader to discover what the children hope to be when they are older, the end pages illustrate the answers. The book also provides the perfect opportunity to discussion lesson content, for example which countries flags are represented in the geography lesson and why are the children practicing their maths skills in real life situations? Readers are encouraged to think about their own school day and reflect upon their own favourite things to do. Picture book / Ages 4+ /

Suggested Reading Age 3+