Emily's First Days of School

by Rosemary Wells

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As Wells's (My Very First Mother Goose) sparkling, ambitious book opens, Emily--a childlike bunny who could easily be kin to Max and Ruby--attends her first day of school. Her teacher, a guinea pig named Miss Cribbage, explains that every morning the class will "make a new number friend," and she promises a party when they reach 100 days. "No one believes we will ever get to one hundred days," says Emily. Wells not only counts the intervening days, she finds a context to make each numeral meaningful. On day two, for example, Emily reports that Miss Cribbage teaches the song "Tea for Two." Along the way, readers observe Emily participate in her warm family life, gain and lose a friend and learn from Miss Cribbage's imaginative lessons. Humor comes naturally (e.g., day 89: "`There are only eighty-nine calories in my tomato soup,' says Aunt Mim. `I can't see any,' says [Emily's little brother] Leo"). Remarkably, only a few entries feel contrived (Papa claims there are 51 reasons why Emily's big sister can't go into the city with her friends; Mama says she can find 56 ways to answer "How Do I Love Thee?"). The spreads, varying from full-page art to panels, are crisp, colorful and winningly detailed, as Wells's fans have come to expect. Except for some production flaws--such as the misspelled "ninteen" and several stylistic inconsistencies--this oversize volume scores big. Ages 3-6. (May)
Copyright 2000 Cahners Business Information, Inc.
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School Library Journal :
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K-Gr 2-A fresh approach to a standard topic-counting. What makes this title so special is that it focuses on the 99 days in between the first day of school and the 100th day. "On the first day of school I leave my mama's arms. I am too excited to cry," says Emily. Her teacher, Miss Cribbage, has the children create their own number books. "When we reach one hundred days we will have a big party." Readers are then introduced to Emily's family and friends, who help her fill her number book with warm memories and solid learning. Wells alternates between Emily's home and school life seamlessly, providing a wonderful example of how families-not just parents-are the first teachers and how they can supplement classroom education throughout childhood. Emily learns the number 68 when "Grandpa brings home sixty-eight tulip bulbs." Her father says, "I have ninety-five things to do-But the most important thing is reading you your story." When the big day finally does arrive, everyone in the class shows Miss Cribbage the fabulous things they can do to celebrate the number 100. The format is varied, alternating between large and small fonts, full-page art with fanciful borders and pages with up to four separate panels, stark white backdrops and warm-hued pastel shadings. There are many books that celebrate the 100th day of school, but this one scores a perfect 100.-Lisa Gangemi Krapp, Rockville Centre Public Library, NY
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Review
: Booklist :
From Booklist, May 2000, Copyright © American Library Association. Used with permission.
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Ages 3-7. This counting book, with bright, big pages, is also a starting-school story with lots of facts and popular sayings about numbers in daily life. For each number from 1 to 100, there's a detailed scenario, with Wells' familiar, endearing cast of bunnies, beavers, cats, pigs, and other creatures, at school and home. The large format allows lots of space to show and count objects (24 is two dozen cookies in groups of 3; 62 is the number of things on Mama's shopping list), and each item is clear and beautiful in ink and watercolor. There are also facts (26 letters in the alphabet; 88 keys on the piano), folklore (playing Crazy Eights), and numbers that are all part of our songs and sayings. As in Margery Cuyler's 100th Day Worries (1999) and Tana Hoban's Let's Count (1999), preschoolers can begin with the prime numbers and enjoy the stories in the pictures, then gradually learn to count their way up to 100 with the everyday things around them. (Reviewed May 15, 2000)¾: Hazel Rochman.