Review by Booklist Review
Ages 5^-9. Every child who has moved to a new school or is simply reluctant to start the school year can identify with this wittily drawn and suspensefully told story. From the moment she awakens on the fateful day to the moment she steps into the classroom, Sarah Hartwell imagines the worst. Love's ink-and-watercolor illustrations add humor to Sarah's fears, which range from bratty kids to a police search when she doesn't show up. Mr. Hartwell's reassurances don't seem to be much help. The pictures mirror the jangled nerves and outsize expectations (the double-page spread of a looming, prisonlike school is priceless) everyone faces when they are new, all of which leads to a nifty surprise ending that is a delight. Funny and insightful. ^-Connie Fletcher
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by School Library Journal Review
K-Gr 3-Sarah is hiding under her covers as Mr. Hartwell asks, "You don't want to miss the first day at your new school do you?" From under the blanket she replies, "I'm not going." When he reminds her how much she liked her other school and asks her to think of all the new friends she'll meet, she imagines a classroom where a paper airplane is flying, a boy is pulling his neighbor's pigtail, and another is blowing a gigantic bubble. Mr. Hartwell finally gets Sarah to stumble out of bed, eat a bit of toast, and get into the car where she slumps down into her seat. At school, the principal cheerfully welcomes her and takes her to the classroom where she is introduced as "Mrs. Sarah Jane Hartwell," the new teacher. There is a bit of foreshadowing that Sarah is an adult, but as she is always partially hidden, the ending will come as a surprise to most readers. The ink-and-watercolor illustrations are full of action and maintain the lighthearted tone. A little subplot in the paintings shows the family cat and dog having their own contest of wills while their owner is trying to get his wife up and out. The joke provides a good laugh and children may find it reassuring that they are not alone in their anxieties about new situations.-Adele Greenlee, Bethel College, St. Paul, MN (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Horn Book Review
In spite of Mr. Hartwell's entreaties, Sarah Jane Hartwell does not want to start her first day in a new school. Like all newcomers, she worries about having to begin again and wonders if there will be nice children in her class. But the ending reveals that Sarah is not a new student--she's the teacher! Lively line and watercolor illustrations bring Sarah's plight to life. From HORN BOOK Fall 2000, (c) Copyright 2010. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Kirkus Book Review
Danneberg puts a fresh twist on an annual crisis suffered by millions: the arrival of that dread day in September when school starts. The alarm rings, but Sarah Jane Hartwell just burrows deeper into her covers, announcing that she's not going, wailing `` `I don't know anybody, and it will be hard, and . . . I just hate it, that's all.' '' Finally, Mr. Hartwell firmly orders her down to breakfast, puts her in the car and drops her off to join the children flooding through the school doors. Love fills the sharply detailed illustrations with happy, individually distinct faces, vividly capturing the fateful morning's hubbub and, aside from a few hints for the sharp-eyed, artfully setting viewers up for the climactic revelation that Sarah Jane is not a student, but a teacher. Many children will be amazed at the idea that teachers get butterflies too, especially if they've been exposed to the hyper-efficient protagonist of Joseph Slate's Miss Bindergarten Gets Ready For Kindergarten (1996). (Picture book. 6-8)
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
