1, 2, 3, Off to School!

In this playful take on school readiness by award-winning author-illustrator Marianne Dubuc, a child visits their friends’ schools and discovers how many wonderful things kindergarteners do in a day! Pom is ready for the first day of kindergarten. Not the real first day, that’s not for another year. But Pom has been hearing a lot from all the animals about each of their schools. So today Pom is visiting them all, to see what kindergarten is really like. Pom starts by watching the mouselings ride the bird bus; then the rabbits learning to read, write and count; the froglets making art; the foxes playing sports; the bear cubs sharing lunch; the sloths napping; the squirrels exploring nature; the wolf pups reading stories; the turtles doing classroom tasks; and, finally, the hedgehogs waiting to be picked up in the schoolyard. Pom is thrilled to discover there are so many fun activities to enjoy at school! Best of all, now Pom knows what Pom wants to do in kindergarten — all of it!

Marianne Dubuc is a master of the delightful small detail, and those details abound in this charming child-friendly look at school readiness. Though there is one main story running through the book, every busy illustration contains numerous individual stories, as the many appealing animal characters (and a few surprise fairy tale characters!) go about their school day. Each fantastically imagined animal school fills its own spread. This is a book that young children will return to again and again, finding something new each time and enhancing their visual literacy.