Mr. S: A First Day of School Book

Written and illustrated by Monica Arnaldo

Katherine Tegen Books (An Imprint of HarperCollins)

978-0-06-300395-8

40 pp.

Ages 4-8

June 2023

 

When is a sandwich more than sandwich? How about when it's a teacher and called Mr. S. Or is it?

From Mr. S by Monica Arnaldo

When the children arrive for their first day of class in room 2B they are met by...no one! Of course, they know they should have a teacher but the only indications that a teacher is around is a steaming mug of coffee, a sandwich, and "Mr. S" written on the board. The perplexed children are divided what to do until a loud slap of a ruler hitting the ground, from beside the sandwich, grabs their attention and they start to wonder. With that and the connection to Mr. S–it must be Mr. Sandwich, right?–the students feel compelled to do an alphabet lesson on sandwich types, an art class, a music class, and storytelling, even giving an errant boy lines to write.

From Mr. S by Monica Arnaldo

Unbeknownst to them, there is a story going on outside their window in the gloom of a thunderstorm. The man who'd been in their classroom before they arrived–this was on the title page– is dealing with mayhem upon mayhem with his car in the parking lot. There's a whole farce happening out there, including everything from lightning and pizzas, a sympathetic raccoon or two, and a fire. For the man, it goes from bad to worse. And when he finally does show up, it's still not clear whether the sandwich has been in charge all along.

From Mr. S by Monica Arnaldo

Okay, let's forget that a class would never be left unattended, especially a kindergarten class and not on the first day of school when kids are normally greeted by their teachers outside before being led into the school. Let's forget that because this is fiction and suspending reality is necessary to make this story so charming. But that's me as an adult and a teacher who knows how things are supposed to be. But these are little kids on their first day. What do they know? And look at that sandwich with its olive eyes, bologna tongue and lettuce ears or hair. It looks like a face. And the name on the board did say "Mr. S." Those children were actually quite clever putting the clues together. They were even more clever for directing their own instruction, albeit very sandwich-based. 

 

Montreal's Monica Arnaldo has written a quirky story of a class being taught by a sandwich but it's surprisingly plausible, especially since children can come up with some pretty fantastic ideas when presented with unusual clues. These kids are a hoot, policing themselves under the watchful eyes of a sandwich, learning the alphabet–could you find a sandwich for each letter of the alphabet?–and creating artwork that emulates great artists like Warhol, Banksy and perhaps Rothko. These kids have character, from differences in their mobility–one child is in a wheelchair and another uses purple forearm crutches–to their shapes, sizes and colours, and their attitudes which range from silly and playful to studious and bossy. Monica Arnaldo has given us real children, and, for them, Mr. Sandwich is just as real, even giving them fodder for debate about different kinds of teachers.

From Mr. S by Monica Arnaldo

The art is as playful as the story and there's so much to find in Monica Arnaldo's digital illustrations created with watercolour, coloured pencils and ink. Whether it's the details in the classroom, like the children reading from Monica Arnaldo's picture book Are You a Cheeseburger?, or the endpapers of children's lunch bags and teacher photos, and definitely the drama happening outside in the parking lot, there is humour and reality that will put a smile on every reader's face and a chuckle in their belly. (And I haven't even given away the ending which will surprise and make children wonder.)

Here's to Mr. S, the sandwich and the book, to all the teachers who guide and inspire and delight, and to the children who find learning opportunities in the most unconventional circumstances.

Teaching Mrs. Muddle

Written by Colleen Nelson

Illustrated by Alice Carter 

Pajama Press

978-1-77278-131-1

32 pp.

Ages 3-6

October 2020

As a teacher, I know we have a lot to learn from our students. If you're a really good teacher, and I believe Mrs. Muddle will be someday, you listen.

From Teaching Mrs. Muddle by Colleen Nelson, illus. by Alice Carter

 

First day of school can be an exciting day but also a trepidacious one, especially for new students such as kindergartners like Kayla who are already nervous about getting lost and missing their mothers.

Mom didn't look ready to say good-bye. I didn't know what she'd do without me all day.

But Mrs. Muddle is certainly muddled. First she mixes up all their nametags–Kayla is most definitely not Jeremy–and then she reads Kayla's favourite book upside down and tells it wrong. Fortunately, Kayla is very helpful and corrects her teacher without embarrassing her.

From Teaching Mrs. Muddle by Colleen Nelson, illus. by Alice Carter

When they head out for a tour of the school and Mrs. Muddle confuses the library for the gym, mistaking the bookshelves for an obstacle course, and a Gr. 5 classroom for the music room and then must repeatedly ask for directions to the bathroom, Kayla helps the teacher out, though Mrs. Muddle doesn't always recognize her slips.

"Mrs. Muddle, maybe you should let me handle this," I said.

"But it's your first day. You might get lost."

Even on my first day, I didn't think I'd get more lost than Mrs. Muddle!

It's the little ones who listen and follow Mr. Brown's gym rules–Mrs. Muddle can't seem to manage that–and Kayla who comes to the rescue when Jeremy hurts his knee on the playground. Finally, after a full day of guiding Mrs. Muddle, Kayla realizes it's time to go home and she has successfully gotten through the first day of kindergarten along with her classmates but also her teacher.

From Teaching Mrs. Muddle by Colleen Nelson, illus. by Alice Carter

Without making Kayla precocious or Mrs. Muddle outrageous, Colleen Nelson creates a very relatable school situation that is both engaging and charming. It's giving Kayla and every child the opportunity to see that they embody far greater capabilities than they imagine they possess. Though this is Colleen Nelson's first picture book, her impressive repertoire of both middle grade novels such as Harvey Comes Home and YA novels like The Fall, Finding Hope and Sadia have always cheered young people for their ability to face challenges, find solutions and make better lives for themselves than their circumstances might dictate. Even in a light but big-hearted story about finding your own way by helping others, Colleen Nelson drives home the conviction that young people can do so much.

From Teaching Mrs. Muddle by Colleen Nelson, illus. by Alice Carter

 

That brightness of Colleen Nelson's story and message about children's potential to lead is emphatically portrayed in Alice Carter's illustrations. Rich in the primary colours which will appeal to young children, Alice Carter makes what could have been a gloomy story about making mistakes or an incompetent teacher into an energized lesson in helping with heart and being confident.

Teaching Mrs. Muddle should become a must-read for parents sending little ones off to kindergarten but it will be also become a favourite for young children who will laugh at the muddled Mrs. Muddle and applaud Kayla for her cleverness and subtlety, recalling their own first times in new situations and satisfaction at handling them as well.

Lili Macaroni

Written by Nicole Testa

Illustrated by Annie Boulanger

Pajama Press

978-1-77278-093-2

32 pp.

Ages 4-7

August 2019

It's too bad that school, a place of opportunity and learning, can be such a stressful experience for some young children. In fact, it can cause so much anxiety that they need to develop coping strategies to get through. That's a problem with the system, not the child, though it is difficult to see the troubles as anything but internal and very personal. Fortunately for Lili, she learns something about making things tolerable for herself and helps out others in the process.

From Lili Macaroni by Nicole Testa, illus. by Annie Boulanger

Lili can see her family in her hair, in her freckles, her eyes and her laughter. Her joie de vivre fills her days with love and imaginative play. When Lili is old enough to go to school, she looks forward to learning and meeting new friends. She does learn much, including about butterflies and moths. But when her new friends make fun of her last name, calling her Lili Macaroni-and-cheese, and her hair, eyes, freckles and laugh, Lili's joy begins to leak from her.

Why didn't Mom, Dad, Grandma, or Grandpa tell me that it wasn't good to be Lili Macaroni?

From Lili Macaroni by Nicole Testa, illus. by Annie Boulanger

Though she'd always said "I am the way I am," Lili is now envisioning herself as a dark-haired girl with no freckles. But Sophia is not her.

From Lili Macaroni by Nicole Testa, illus. by Annie Boulanger

Her dad suggests she draw one of her lovely polka-dotted butterflies to "help fly the heartache away." Clipping it to her shoulder, Lili feels the weight of the teasing leave her. It's a strategy she shares with her teacher who in turn shares Lili's butterfly solution with all her students.

From Lili Macaroni by Nicole Testa, illus. by Annie Boulanger

Teasing can be playful but it can also be bullying and very young children don't always know when one has become the other. In the mean while, there are little ones like Lili who must endure humiliating comments about their physical appearance and then wish they were anyone other than themselves. Fortunately, author Nicole Testa surrounds Lili with some very astute adults who recognize the little girl's need to feel good about being herself. Without hoovering up her bad feelings or demanding the school take action, they allow Lili to make her coping strategy work for her.  It's positive and it's empowering.

Quebec illustrator Annie Boulanger, who illustrated Nicole Testa's French-language Lili Macaroni: Je suis comme je suis! (Dominique et compagnie, 2017), gives Lili all the attributes the text imbues her with. She's a little wild, a lot of fun, and a whole lot of smart. She's colourful and inquisitive and enthusiastic. But when she' sad, the light is gone from her eyes and her clothing and the page.

From Lili Macaroni by Nicole Testa, illus. by Annie Boulanger

For young children going off to school for the first time, Lili Macaroni will help prepare them to recognize teasing that is insensitive and harmful and help them handle it for themselves as well as for others.

The Day My Mom Came to Kindergarten

by Maureen Fergus

Illustrated by Mike Lowery

Kids Can Press

978-1-55453-698-6

32 pp.

Ages 3-7

March, 2013

With school just around the corner (you have seen the back-to-school sales advertised already, haven't you?), many teachers and parents are starting to think about those first days and how to make them run smoothly and still be fun.  The Day My Mom Came to Kindergarten by Maureen Fergus and illustrated by Mike Lowery is a wonderful new youngCanLit to use in the classroom for introducing rules in a humourous context or at home to prepare little ones for their first years in school, without preaching.
 
Kindergarten can be a trying experience for both parent and child but not for the little girl who narrates The Day My Mom Came to Kindergarten.  She loves school.  "It was better than a dinosaur museum, a circus, and a super-duper mega-three-scooper ice-cream sundae."  Mom on the other hand seems a little sad to see her little one go off to school.  So, her daughter politely asks if Mom would like to come inside, sensing the need to help Mom through this experience.

But Mom is so excited that she just barrels right in there.  She doesn't know that you don't barge in at the front of the line, that you take off your outdoor shoes and put them away in your cubby, that you raise your hand, wait your turn and don't shout out, that you clean up after yourself, that you use an indoor voice in the library, and that no one speaks during Story Time.  Mom has a lot to learn.  Luckily her daughter is already well versed in kindergarten protocols, and the teacher, Ms Beaudry, is very understanding and accepts that sometimes it takes a while to get comfortable with something new.  But the message is still clear.

"...school is nicer for everybody if you try to be considerate of others."

Robert Fulghum's popular essay, titled All I Really Need to Know I Learned in Kindergarten (Villard Books, 1988), still holds its truth and veracity twenty-five years later.  Maybe it's because those truths are so relevant to all persons, irrespective of age or other distinction, that the similar messages, graphically enhanced in The Day My Mom Came to Kindergarten, are so universal and beneficial to harmonious relationships.  Now, if everyone could just remember those messages after they leave kindergarten, our world undoubtedly would be more equitable with less strife.  Mom certainly has all the attributes of a child in a new, inviting situation (check out her earnest expression on the book's cover) and in need of some gentle reminders about the right way to do things at school.  Fortunately, she picks up on the school etiquette, courtesy of her daughter, and realizes that maybe she shouldn't be attending kindergarten after all.  And you can bet she won't bud in line at the grocery store ever again.