BECOMING VANESSA by Vanessa Brantley Newton - a book about starting school and being yourself

 

It’s great to see a book that shows kids the way they are, with the things they notice and the way they actually talk! I especially loved the scenes with her family and how they quietly supported her. Another great back-to-school story that is also good for a preschool or kindergarten classroom book collection. 

 

Summary from the publisher: 

On Vanessa’s first day of school, her parents tell her it will be easy to make friends. Vanessa isn’t so sure. She wears her fanciest outfit so her new classmates will notice her right away. They notice, but the attention isn’t what she’d hoped for. As the day goes on, she feels more self-conscious. Her clothes are too bright, her feather boa has way too many feathers, and even her name is too hard to write.

The next day, she picks out a plain outfit, and tells her mom that her name is too long. She just wants to blend in, with a simple name like the other girls–why couldn’t her parents have named her Megan or Bella? But when her mother tells her the meaning behind her name, it gives her the confidence she needs to introduce her classmates to the real Vanessa.  

Becoming Vanessa by Vanessa Brantley Newton was published by Alfred A. Knopf in 2021. 

 

My thoughts as a creator:

This is a great mentor text for writers and illustrators! This book gave me insights into creating voice and creating believable side characters. I especially liked how the other kids in the class were curious and blunt, but didn’t come across as mean. Vanessa Brantley Newton is a master at using details to add personality and interest to her stories and to her illustrations. 

My thoughts as an educator:

 I liked this different take on a back-to-school story. I’m looking forward to sharing this with my kindergarten students and discussing how the main character’s clothes expressed her personality and feelings. Vanessa solves her problem in her own way, even though her family is there to support her.  

Ages: 3-7

Grades: preschool – grade 2

Themes: starting school, feelings, being yourself

 Activities:

Family connections: Ask you parents what your name means or why they gave you your name. How do you feel about that?

Writing: What is your favorite thing to wear? How do you feel when you are wearing it? Draw a picture of yourself in your favorite outfit.

Math Connections: How many butterflies are in this book? Count them! Draw a picture of your own with lots of butterflies (or caterpillars) to count.

Social-Emotional Learning: What do you do when you don’t feel like talking about something yet? Discuss. 

 

Additional Resources for Educators:

 On KidLit TV, Vanessa Brantley Newton discusses her life and her art style:

Here she teaches us how to make collage art!

 

ALL ARE WELCOME by Alexandra Penfold & Suzanne Kaufman

This lovely rhyming book is perfect for starting off the school year and to keep on hand in the classroom for students to explore. I think I will have to buy a copy for my classroom.

Summary from the publisher:

A warm, welcoming picture book that celebrates diversity and gives encouragement and support to all kids.

Follow a group of children through a day in their school, where everyone is welcomed with open arms. A school where kids in patkas, hijabs, and yarmulkes play side-by-side with friends in baseball caps. A school where students grow and learn from each other’s traditions and the whole community gathers to celebrate the Lunar New Year.

All Are Welcome lets young children know that no matter what, they have a place, they have a space, they are welcome in their school.

All Are Welcome was written by Alexandra Penfold and illustrated by Suzanne Kaufman. It was published by Alfred A. Knopf in 2018.

Opening:     

Pencils sharpened in their case.

Bells are ringing, let’s make haste.

School’s beginning, dreams to chase.

All are welcome here.

My Thoughts as a Writer:

A lovely example of a rhyming story with a positive message for children. The repetition of the line "All are welcome here" is so effective. I can see myself using this throughout the year as a reminder, or even to post in the classroom. Brilliant word choice! I especially liked the way the illustrations show diversity & inclusion with different skin colors, clothing, and family groupings.

My Thoughts as an Educator:

This book upholds all the values that we see in a strong public education environment. There are opportunities for talking about individual differences, diversity, what it means to feel safe, how each child has their own unique story and how we can learn from each other. I plan to read this to my kindergarten students early in the year!

Ages: 4 - 7

Grades: K – 2

Themes: diversity, community, school

Activities:

Draw and Share: What is your special talent? What could you teach to others?

Discuss: What is your favorite page in the story? Why?

Make: Have students write the words "All Are Welcome Here" as a banner to put up in the classroom. 

Draw: Draw a picture of what you could do to make a new student feel welcome.

Create: Use yarn to create welcoming hearts for the fence at your school playground (see inside covers).

Learning from Picture Books – CHICKEN IN SCHOOL by Adam Lehrhaupt & Shahar Kober

This is a cute story that encourages creative thinking and dramatic play!

            

Summary from the publisher:

Join Zoey the chicken for a tour of her unusual classroom in this celebration of creativity, friendship, and tasty snacks. When Zoey decides to turn the barn into a school and become a teacher, everyone in the barnyard learns that the best part of school is using your imagination.

From the hilarious author-illustrator duo that brought you Chicken in Space, this story about playful approaches to activities like reading, math, and recess will inspire any young adventurer to get excited for school.

Chicken in School was written by Adam Lehrhaupt and illustrated by Shahar Kober. It was published in 2017 by Harper.

Opening:

“Zoey wasn’t like the other chickens.

And that’s how Sam liked it.”

My Thoughts as a Writer:

The concept of this story is very appropriate for young children. They will easily connect with the idea of “playing school.” I liked the gentle humor the author created through the secondary characters and their reactions to the main character’s over-the-top ideas. It’s fun to see how the illustrator has enhanced the humor in the text. The expressions on the character’s faces reveal a lot about what they are thinking!

My Thoughts as an Educator:

This book is a nice choice to support play-based learning in a preschool or kindergarten classroom. I especially loved Zoey’s creative way to use books and crayons! This story also promotes a positive attitude towards school.

Ages: 3 - 6

Grades: PreK - 1

Themes:  creativity, imagination, taking risks, friendship, modeling clay

Activities:

Look at the pictures Zoey drew of her adventures. What would your adventure be? Draw a picture to show what you would do.

What other things could you build with besides books? Draw a plan to show what you would build and ask if you can try it out!

Build your own school. What do you need? What would you want to learn?

Learning from Picture Books – FRANK AND LUCKY GET SCHOOLED

This is a fun book for dog lovers! Older primary students will definitely appreciate the humor. 

Summary from the Publisher:

On a rainy day, Frank’s parents take him to the shelter to get a new dog. That’s how Frank finds Lucky, and from that moment on, they’re inseparable. 

As Frank and Lucky venture out into the world around them, they discover they both have a lot to learn. Exploring their neighborhood teaches them about biology: Lucky learns all about squirrels, deer, and—unfortunately for Frank—skunks. Sharing a bed teaches them about fractions—what happens when one dog takes up three-quarters of the bed, or even the whole thing? They even learn different languages: Frank makes a friend who speaks Spanish and Lucky tries to learn Duck! Who knew you could learn so much without ever setting foot inside a classroom?

Frank and Lucky Get Schooled was written and illustrated by Lynne Rae Perkins, and published in 2016 by Greenwillow Books, an imprint of HarperCollins.

Opening:

“One day when Frank could not win for losing, he got Lucky.”

My Thoughts as a Writer:

This was a different take on the typical dog story, showing what dogs and people learn from each other with lots of humorous lines and speech bubbles to show show the imagined perspective of the dog. It was fun the way the book considered different school subjects such as math, science, history, arts, etc. so I really liked the concept of this book.

I enjoyed all the detail in the illustrations, and how everyday things are used to show concepts like fractions, etc.

My Thoughts as a Teacher:

As a teacher, I really liked the way this book shows how learning is part of everyday life—even for dogs!  It also shows how different areas of learning are connected (useful for teaching purposes but mostly just fun!) and how you can learn different things, depending on your perspective. This book is also great for modeling inquiry, since it is full of questions that come up about real world objects and occurrences. 

I think 2^nd and 3^rd graders would especially like this book. My one tiny quibble is that the first line is hard to understand if you’re not familiar with the expression, and that may put some kids off reading it. But it would be an excellent read aloud, especially for early in the school year. I think it’s also a book that kids will love to explore and revisit, because of all the details in the text and illustrations.

Ages: 4 – 8 (according to the publisher, but I think most of this would be beyond a kindergartener’s comprehension level)

Grades: upper primary to junior level

Themes: learning, dogs, school subjects, inquiry

Activities:

Pick your favorite school subject and your favorite animal, and make a comic (or write a page) showing the different things you and your animals might learn in that subject.

Think of an everyday experience, such as what happens when you get home from school, a birthday party, a trip to the park, and write down three different questions about it. Share your wonderings with a partner!

Draw a picture of your pet (or a pet you’d like to have). Which school subject do you think they will enjoy the most? Explain why.

Learning from Picture Books – SCHOOL’S FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL

I enjoyed this fresh perspective on the back-to-school story.

Summary from the Publisher:

It's the first day of school at Frederick Douglass Elementary and everyone's just a little bit nervous, especially the school itself. What will the children do once they come? Will they like the school? Will they be nice to him?

The school has a rough start, but as the day goes on, he soon recovers when he sees that he's not the only one going through first-day jitters.

School’s First Day of School was written by Adam Rex and illustrated by Christian 

Robinson. It was published by Roaring Brook Press in 2016.

Opening:

“That summer, they dug up the big field, and poured the foundation, and set brick on top of brick until they’d built a school.”

My Thoughts as a Writer:

It’s an interesting and tricky challenge to take an inanimate object and write a story from its perspective, but I think it works here because schools are so familiar to kids. I liked the conversational writing style, which is full of the small details of everyday life.

The illustrations are a lot of fun and kids will enjoy studying them to see what the students are doing in the group scenes

My Thoughts as a Teacher:

I’d love to read this book to students so they can think about a different perspective on back-to-school. It’s also a good way to introduce some of the places and what a day in school might be like. The pages with scenes from different parts of the school would be fun to talk about, and to model “reading the pictures”.  

I liked the message that anyone can be nervous or worried at the beginning of school. The words reflecting emotion (e.g., “worry”, “felt bad”, “embarrassed”), are nice opportunities to discuss how to talk about feelings.

Ages: 4 – 8

Grades: kindergarten to grade 5

Themes: first day of school, fears, diversity, janitors or custodians

Activities:

How is your school the same or different from the school in this book? Make a list!

What do you think your school might say on your first day? Draw a picture of your school and write one sentence to share your school’s feelings.

Find your janitor or custodian and interview them to find out what they do to get your school ready for students! Share what you found out.

Which page is your favorite? Explain why.

This book has an activity guide. 

Learning from Picture Books – A TIGER TAIL

The subtitle is: Or What Happened to Anya on Her First Day of School. This is a fun twist on a back-to-school story, with a classic message about how everyone is different.

Summary from the Publisher:

From the creative mind of rising star Mike Boldt comes a hilarious and original tale about overcoming back-to-school jitters, making new friends, and taking things in stride.

Anya wakes up to discover that she has grown a tiger tail. Yes, a striped tiger tail. It also happens to be the first day of school. What will the other kids think? Are girls with tiger tails even allowed to go to school?!

Anya is about to find out.

A Tiger Tail was written and illustrated by Mike Boldt and published in 2016 by Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers.

Opening:

“Anya woke one day, only to discover that overnight, she had grown a tiger tail.”

My Thoughts as a Writer:

I loved the opening sentence, which is stretched over two or three pages where in the illustration we see the tail, but Anya doesn’t yet. This really builds up the suspense, because readers will want to see how she reacts. I appreciated this different take on the typical first day of school story. Even though I had a strong sense of how the story might end, the way it came about still had an element of surprise.  A great example of how to take a “tried and true” theme or story and put a new spin on it.

I love Mike Boldt’s style (big and bold) because it’s so great for read alouds! I also like the design of the book and the way the illustrations extend across pages. I thought this style brought an “up close and personal” feel to the story.

My Thoughts as a Teacher:

I think this would be great way to introduce a discussion about going to school worries without drawing attention to anyone in the class (or introducing your own thoughts about what your students might be afraid of). Lingering on the last page would show students that everyone is different in some way.

Ages: 4 – 8 

Grades: prek - 2

Themes: first day of school, fears, individual differences, diversity

Activities:

Make a game by creating several cards with different animal parts on them. Take turns choosing a card and explaining why it would be useful to have that part.

Think of a time when you felt worried about being or looking different and write/draw a picture to tell about what happened. Share with a partner if you wish.

Read Imogene’s Antlers by David Small, for a book with a similar idea and different situations.