First Day Jitters

Always one of my favorite beginning-of-school stories! I loved reading this to my first graders.

As a teacher, I've read this book on the first day of school many times. My kids love the ending!

Lol!
The ending was surprising.
I believe that every kids, especially the one that got nervous on their first day at school, have to read this book.
They will feel better, trust me XD

This is such a fun book because everyone on the planet can relate: a parent, a student, a teacher or a principal understands those emotions completely. The first day of school is exciting but also can be very scary. Everyone finds it hard to sleep the night before and they try to imagine in their head all night long what that first day will look like.

Will the teacher be nice? Will the kids accept me and be my friends? Will I miss my bus or .... horrors of horrors.... forget my lunch on the kitchen counter? Is what I chose to wear the right thing so I'll look cool? Is my backpack stuffed and ready to go? And on and on and on....... all these things swirl around over an over again as the alarm is anticipated every five minutes and your first day starts calling you forth.

Sarah Jane does not want to get up and head off and she pulls her covers back over her head and refuses to budge. She finally is lured from her hideaway and encouraged to eat a piece of toast, grab her lunch pail and head off into the wonderful world of first day jitters. She still is relucant and slumps down in the car en route trying to disappear into thin air once again.

She is met by the principal of the school and escorted to her classroom where a gaggle of students are anxiously awaiting her arrival. How will she be received? Will her jitters overcome her? Maybe she should have stayed home in bed. This book is humorous and extremely witty. The illustrations are just fantastic, full of detail, emotion and action. They were a great sell for me purchasing the book for myself. I truly loved them. Suspense is created as the reader turns each page because the true identity of Sarah Jane is not fully disclosed until the very end of the book. The unexpected twist that culminates the story will bring a great chuckle to readers of all ages.

I used this book when I was teaching in every grade: from Kindergarten through grades 7 and 8. Each time I read it aloud to my class, the kids enjoyed it immensely and we all had a great laugh because the characters portrayed in the book were....us!! Highly recommended.

First Day Jitters written by Julie Danneberg and illustrated Judy Love, is a great niche book for that first day back to school in September, perfect for any grade level. Miss Sarah Jane Hartwell does not want to go to her new school. She'd rather stay in bed under the covers when the clock strikes 6 am, but her father insists she face the music. With a piece of toast and a lunchbox in her hand, Sarah's father drives her to school where she is met by the principal, Mrs Burton who introduces her to the rest of the class. There is a surprise ending which will make you chuckle.

There is not a lot of text but the book is full of Norman Rockwellesque illustrations. We don't get to see Sarah's face until the last page, but we empathize with her emotions in facing a new experience. "The teachers will hate me", "The kids won't like me", "I won't fit in", "They'll laugh at me" - who doesn't have doubts that first day? Kids will easily relate to Sarah and her angst. In addition, they will love the humorous Illustrations, full of the delightful faces of children reflecting a school full of diversity, including a black principal. The antics of Sarah's pets, a cat and dog, add to the fun.

This book will make a wonderful icebreaker for a teacher to read to her class as they begin the school year. Four stars and a Thank you to Netgalley and Charlesbridge for providing me with this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

5/5 stars. First Day Jitters is one of my favorite books for reading aloud to primary students on the first day of school. So many students face fears about various aspects of school whether it is due to a new school, new grade, new teacher or even new family situation. Most are surprised by the ending. Many want to relate the text to their own lives after I finish reading it. I especially appreciate that the artwork reflects diversity in the students' faces.

I loved this book! I have always enjoyed children's books, and this is a perfect example of why. The pictures are beautifully done, and when she entered the classroom, I could imagine the noise of a class full of children on the first day of school! The words flow, and add deeper meaning to the images. The ending was perfection and this story is sure to please!

I love this story. In First Day Jitters, Sarah Jane Hartwell doesn’t want to get out of bed to go to school on the first day. Mr. Hartwell finally convinces her to get up, have breakfast and head off to school. He drives her and she is met by the principal who takes her to her classroom.

The author, Julie Danneberg, writes this book in a way that leaves the reader surprised at the end of the story when it is revealed that Sarah is actually the teacher. The illustrations by Judy Love, are also done in a way that Sarah’s face is never revealed until the end of the book when she is introduced to the class. I loved the illustrations, they are colourful, full of action (the pets trying to get her out of bed are wonderful) and kids will relate to them well.

Children of all ages would enjoy the surprise at the end of the story. I am a retired teacher and I know that my colleagues would enjoy the humor of this book, and relate to it more than we know. This would be a great read aloud book to share with students on the first day of school. It would give teachers the opportunity to share their worries and concerns about the first day of school. This gives students the chance to see their teachers in a different light, we don't live in or sleep at the school, and we have similar feelings at the beginning the new school year.

This is a great book to be in all school libraries as well as classroom libraries or teacher resource rooms. A great opportunity to talk about emotions and ways to deal with them.

Cute story! I loved the surprise at the end!

I will be adding this book to my library!

Thank you to NetGalley and Charlesbridge Publishing for the opportunity to read and review this book.