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Product Description 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. From School Library Journal PreS-Gr 1—Step aside, other first day of school books: there's a new school in town. After construction and a summer of tender loving care from the janitor, Frederick Douglass Elementary's first day finally arrives. And what a day it is: hordes of children with all their feelings, mess, noise, new concepts, and even a fire alarm (which the school finds deeply embarrassing). Worried but curious, impetuous, and vulnerable, the school works as a perfect proxy for nervous child readers. Rex's warm and goofy text is brought to life by Robinson's vivid collage illustrations. His signature round-headed, tulip-handed figures are diverse and appealing, from the supportive janitor to the "little girl with freckles" who slowly warms up to school at the same time that the school is warming up to the children. VERDICT A+: an essential purchase that is simultaneously funny, frank, and soothing. A perfect first day read-aloud.—Sarah Stone, San Francisco Public Library Review Recipient of 7 starred reviews!"Robinson (Last Stop on Market Street) gives the school just a hint of visual personification in his flattened, paint-and-collage artwork, as Rex (Moonday) deftly juggles well-placed jokes and keen insights into feeling comfortable in one’s own skin―or bricks, as the case may be."―Publishers Weekly, starred "Using his signature, simple style, Robinson alternates scenes of the building and its interiors with shots that show the boisterously diverse kids' first day.A unique point of view makes this school book stand out."―Kirkus Reviews, starred "Sure to become a staple for first days of school everywhere."―Horn Book, starred "This charming reversal of first-day-of-school nerves will delight little ones and help put their own anxieties at bay."―Booklist, starred"An essential purchase that is simultaneously funny, frank, and soothing. A perfect first day read-aloud."― School Library Journal, starred"A delightful, perspective-tweaking back-to-school picture book."―Shelf Awareness, starred"Anthropomorphization of the whole building is a new and promising approach for school-shy youngsters, and it’ll make the already school-positive want to give their beloved building a hug."―Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books, starred About the Author Adam Rex is the illustrator of Amy Timberlake's The Dirty Cowboy and Ste-e-e-e-eamboat a-Comin'! by Jill Esbaum. He lives in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Christian Robinson's award-winning books for young readers include Josephine, which was a Coretta Scott King Honor Book as well as a Sibert Honor Book, and Harlem's Little Blackbird, which was an NAACP Image Award nominee. His book Last Stop on Market Street earned four starred reviews and was on the New York Times bestseller list.