First-Day Fright: I Don't Want to Go to School by Stephanie Blake

There was once a mischievous little rabbit named Simon.

With a big smile, his mother told him, "Tomorrow is your first day of school, my dear."

Simon answered, "No way!"

It's that I've-got-the-pre-school-jitters-don't-wanna-go-there blues" time again, a time when some kids can't wait but other kids can't sleep for worrying. Simon the Super Rabbit is a cautious bunny, and although he lies awake trying to convince himself that he is NOT afraid of the first day of school, it takes a special hug, a loving tuck-in, and some extra reassuring words to help him sleep the night before the first day of school. Dad points out that he'll learn the alphabet and make new friends. Mom reminds him that he is a brave little rabbit, her Super Rabbit, but Simon has only one thing to say:

"NO WAY!"

The first thing Simon does at school is to cry. But once in the swing of it, things begin to look up. There are chocolate mousse for dessert in the cafeteria, lots of drawing materials at his desk, games to play at recess, drums to play at music time, and a girl rabbit with daisies on her ears to play with him all day long.

And when Mom shows up at the end of the day to tell Simon it's time to go home, he has a well-rehearsed line all ready for her:

"NO WAY!!!"

Great for parents and new teachers to read aloud to reluctant scholars, Stephanie Blake's brand-new I Don't Want to Go To School! (Random, 2009) introduces an appealing little rabbit who expresses the feelings of many children as they approach that scary first day in a new school.