The first week of school by Drew Beckmeyer

 I picked this up as I always have teachers asking for back to school/first day of school titles and a lot of people liked Beckmeyer's I am a tornado (although I personally wasn't a big fan and I think, after 20+ tornadoes this spring/summer, people might not like it quite so much lol). Anyways, this was unexpectedly hilarious and I can't wait to read it aloud to school classes.

From outer space on the endpages, we zoom into a red brick school with a string of cars surrounding it and the statement "This is the first day of the first week of school." In the classroom 15 kids sit, ready for school to start. Each spread is labeled with a "This is - " statement, with small captions describing the thoughts and emotions of various kids, The Artist, The Inventor, The Teacher, etc. During circle time, a new kid shows up and the next day Nobody takes their place in the classroom. The story starts getting funnier here, with the deadpan narration of the captions showing the quirks, everyday trials, and goofiness of the kids, along with the progress The Inventor makes progress on his machine, The Artist learns to showcase her art, and the teacher ends the week with a cupcake - after all, "even good weeks are a lot of work when you are a teacher." Nobody returns home, but not before helping The Inventor with his invention, which provides a surprising twist at the end of the story!

Beckmeyer's thick crayon illustrations look like chalkboard drawings, a fun fit for a school-themed story. This isn't really a storytime book - the humor is in the details and the way they interact with the statements and captions. It would make a fun classroom read-aloud, especially if you use a document camera so the kids can see all the details (unless you find an equally alien classroom with only 15 kids in it!)

Verdict: A fun addition to back to school books and one teachers will enjoy adding to their read-aloud collections.

ISBN: 9781665940429; Reinforced at $15.19 on Baker & Taylor

Published June 2024 by Atheneum; Review copy provided by publisher; Donated to the library