The first day of school is an event that brings mixed emotions to children everywhere. There is excitement in seeing old friends, and it’s nice to begin a new year with a new teacher and good intentions. But first day feelings are mixed. Will last year’s friends still be friends? What if the new teacher doesn’t like me? Or what if the work is too hard?

 

Ellen Jackson and Jan Davey Ellis portray children from eleven different countries experiencing their first day back at school. Each child’s first-person account is enhanced by a fact box that tells us something about the culture from which the child speaks, so that the reader is able to compare and contrast the experiences of children from different parts of the world.

 

In words and pictures, the author and artist have captured the diversity of children’s school experiences, while at the same time capturing how much the world’s children have in common.