It is the first day of school and Hayley is excited. Things are different now. She isn't a kindergartener anymore; she is a big kid. She is a first grader.Hayley quickly finds out that first grade is
No share time! Only one recess! Writing is hard! The stories don't end right! FIRST GRADE STINKS!
It is the first day of school and Hayley is excited. Things are different now. She isn't a kindergartener anymore; she is a big kid. She is a first grader.
Hayley quickly finds out that first grade is different from kindergarten, but in all the wrong ways! The classroom isn't as bright and colorful. Ms. Gray doesn't seem to smile as much as her kindergarten teacher Ms. Lacey did. The work is hard and there isn't enough time to play outside. Worst of all, her best friend Ryan says he likes first grade! Finally, Hayley has had enough. "First grade stinks!" she shouts. The classroom is suddenly very quiet. "You're in trouble now," Ryan whispers. But to Hayley's surprise Ms. Gray doesn't look mad at all.
Young readers will immediately empathize with Hayley and her increasing apprehension, as she tries to negotiate new expectations and challenges on the first day of a new school year.
Mary Ann Rodman, a former school media specialist, is the author of A Tree for Emmy and First Grade Stinks! She has received both the Ezra Jack Keats Award for Outstanding New Picture Book Writer and the Charlotte Zolotow Award. She lives in Georgia.
Beth Spiegel has edited award-winning documentary programs for television and directed animated films that have received several international awards. She lives in California.
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