Drawing on nearly 30 years as an elementary school teacher, Anne Gigi McCrory offers young readers a reassuring look at back-to-school anxiety in her new picture book, Who’s Ready? … For the First Day of School! Told in gentle rhyme, the illustrated story follows children and families preparing the night before school while also revealing the often-unseen efforts of teachers, custodians, cafeteria workers and other staff members working to make the first day welcoming and memorable.
A mother of three and grandmother of eight, McCrory created the book to help children understand that they are not alone in feeling nervous about a new school year, and that an entire community is preparing to support them.
You can learn more with McCrory's own words:
Something I always shared with my classroom parents, especially of children in their first years of school (prek - 2) is that school is about learning, but not all the learning is academic. Children need time and experience and guidance in learning how to socialize with others. Children learn best when they feel they are in a safe environment to take risks without worry of embarrassment (like raising their hands to answer questions or trying something new) and can celebrate mistskes together because "Mistakes are signs of learning"! We say "yay you made a mistake for us to learn - what did we all learn together?" School will teach kind communication skills to build self esteem and a safe and fun community for learning. This community of caring life-long learners includes everyone in our school. The cafeteria staff, the Principal, the aides, the custodians, the bus drivers, and all the teachers want every student to feel safe and happy at school. It's important for the children to know who the adults are in the building and that they all care about the children's safety and happiness. We are all a part of building that community of learners.
I also share with parents that your children will work and play hard all day long. Trying on new things is tiring on these little ones the first month of school. They will be hungry and exhausted at the end of the day, and sometimes a bit grumpy from being their very best all day at school. The students might need a little after school snack or to eat the left over lunch from their lunchboxes the first weeks. They are just learning how to eat their lunch in a crowded room without getting distracted. They will have food leftover. It's very natural. A good bedtime routine is very important for a great start the next day, too.
Reading books to my own children helped us prepare for the many new and unknown situations life had ahead. There always seemed to be a Bernstein Bears book that addressed a problem we were having in a fun way. When a child reads a story about a worry or problem or new event, it allows them to experience it through a storybook character's eyes and takes away the fears or worries of the unknown by painting what it will be like for them. I wrote Who's Ready For The First Day of School to share with children that they are not alone in their wonders and maybe some worries. I wanted them to know that the teachers are just as excited with butterflies in tummies as the students are for the first day of school. I wanted them to know that there is a whole community of people at school working all summer to make school a fun and safe place; a place that they'll look forward to going to everyday.I wrote my first book "When Someday Comes" to help parents find answers to questions for their children as we all worked to find our new normals after COVID. Yet this book also helps children adjust expectations when things don't turn out exactly as they expect them to be. Sometimes when we enter new situations , they might be a little different than expected and that's ok too.
Last I just want to thank the parents and guardians and grandparents for sharing the gift of reading to their children. The love of reading together is a life long memory your children will forever cherish and pass on to their children.
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