RAH! RAH! RAH! I Got the School Spirit by Connie Scholfield Morrison

SUMMER IS OVER. MY FIRST DAY IS HERE.

I GOT THE SPIRIT TO START THE SCHOOL YEAR.

First days are big days--sometimes energizing, sometimes overwhelming. But for this spirited girl, it's invigorating!

She brushes her teeth with vigor! She chooses her clothes with elan! She stomps her shiny new shoes with verve. She eats her breakfast eggs wih exuberance. Her mom drops her lunch bag (with a note that says WE Heart U) into her backpack with a firm ZIP!

Out on the corner she boards the school bus with vigor and hugs her seatmate who is a bit weepy with first-day jitters, and she calms herself with some deep breaths... IN.... and ...OUT!

I WAIT FOR THE SPIRIT TO CALL MY NAME: HERE! HERE!

It's a morning of ABCs and 123s done with sparkle and then it's time for LUNCH with spirited MUNCH AND CRUNCH! and energy in the ball game on the playground and serious schoolwork and a spirited story. And at the end of the day, there's good news to celebrate: the blackboard says there's No Homework!

I CAN'T WAIT TO SEE WHAT I'LL LEARN TOMORROW!

Connie Schofield Morrison's latest, I Got the School Spirit (Bloomsbury Children's Books, 2020) is a pep rally for the first day at a new school with a main character who is high spirits make it an exuberant experience for everyone around her, ending with high-fives and hugs and see-you-tomorrows that promise more good days at school. Artist Frank Morrison's vibrant oil paintings add to the verve of Schofield's go-to-go girl, one of those kids who is a natural cheerleader for life!

Kirkus gives this one a gold-star review: "Vibrant. . . If a school pep rally could walk and talk, this kid would be it."