"Teacher says, "Everyone come to the gym
to find your buddy." My stomach does a
somersault.
Everywhere I look, there are big kids.
Big kids walking.
Big kids waiting.
Big kids watching."
Lead-up images to the title page offer a real sense of what the first day of school can feel like: a group of little kids leaves their bus and heads toward the school. The child in front looks uneasy. Turn the page and he comes face-to-face with a big kid. I mean a REALLY BIG KID who, while friendly, towers over him. It's a scary beginning to that first day.
Watching them and hearing the noise big kids make is terrifying. They are so loud, so gregarious, so quick to move. The double-page spread that shows a gym filled with too many big kids calling out to each other, while the very small boy stands among them is a perfect way to make the enormity of his feelings known. In the crush that happens as the big kids look to meet their new buddy, he hopes he will remain unnoticed. It is not to be.
"One by one,
all the little kids
find a big kid.
Not me.
Oh no!
One of the big kids is looking
right at me."
Despite the fear he is feeling, the little kid waves back. His new buddy takes him to his classroom, finds a place for his backpack, and even walks him to the cafeteria at lunch time. They go to the library to check out books. At the end of the day, the two meet on the basketball court for a final goodbye before boarding the bus for the trip home. Life is good!
Digital artwork offers magnified proportions to provide a real sense of the perspective of the small child faced with everything new and frightening at the start of a school year. As the day ends, both buddies are a normal size and quite comfortable with their new friendship. Having a buddy with a big heart is a terrific way to ease this new kid into the unknown.
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