Stuff Happens! Frank! by Connah Brecon

FRANK WAS LATE!  FRANK WAS ALWAYS LATE.

Frank is a good guy, always ready to pitch in to help a stranger in need.

But when school starts, it seems stuff always happens to make him late. The first day of school he arrives after dismissal.

On the second day he vows to do better... and he does.  He gets there right after lunch. It seems there was a cat stuck up high in a tree, and there was no one but Frank to get her down. Teacher is not pleased, but who can punish a kitty rescuer?

On the third day Frank does much better. He makes it to class just in time for lunch. Questioned, he has quite a tale to tell:

FRANK HAD BEEN MISTAKEN FOR FAMOUS DANCER AND CHALLENGED TO A CHARITY DANCE-0FF, WHICH TURNED OUT RATHER WELL!

It gets worse. The next day Frank almost makes it before the morning bell stops ringing. But he has a good excuse--something about motherless baby bunnies and a evil ogre!

By the end of the week, Teacher has had it. Just as Frank opens his mouth to explain why he's late again, the teacher shouts

STOP!!

But before she starts her tirade on chronic lateness, everything goes dark! Boom! Flash!

Are those plumes of red-hot fire shooting past the window? Are those Zombie King Lizards at the door?

And here's Frank, just in time!

Even without super powers, Frank never fails, in Connah Brecon's funny, tongue-in-cheek tale of a tardy but timely hero, Frank! (Running Brook Press, 2014). In Brecon's piquant cityscape, there seem to be many opportunities for this capeless crusader, as Frank the bear nonchalantly makes his way to school through streets seemingly filled with peril. "Quirky appeal," promises Kirkus Reviews.

Preschool Prerequisites? Monstergarten by Daniel J. Mahoney

Almost everyone has the willies before school starts, especially when there's a new school in the picture. Patrick is no different.

"I'M IN BIG TROUBLE BECAUSE I HAVE TO BE SCARY BY TOMORROW.

IT'S ONE OF THE RULES FOR FOR GOING INTO MONSTERGARTEN!"

Patrick can't even scare his friend Kevin, and he feels like he's already a failure at Monstergarten.

His best friend offers to help him practice up on his scary techniques. Patrick puts on his best monster face and makes his scariest noise to surprise his sleeping cat, Snowball. Startled, Snowball jumps straight up, puffs up her tail and yowls a scary yowl that scares Patrick right back.

Kevin suggests that they try something else. He suggests his sister and her silly friends.

"I'M AN EXPERT IN BEING SCARY, BUT THOSE GIRLS ARE REALLY SCARY!"

But the big girls just laugh at the two little monsters' attempts. Now Patrick feels even more like a pre-matriculation failure already.

Kevin and Patrick hit the books, boning up on scary sounds and frightful moves in all their best horror storybooks. Patrick tries them all out and finds all his attempts unconvincing. Patrick is definitely in a down mood about school.

At dinner his mom notices he's just picking at his lizardloaf.

"JUST BE YOURSELF," SAID HIS MOTHER WITH A HUG.

And despite his first-day fears and an unpromising entrance to the little red Monstergarten hanging onto his dad's foot, Patrick makes the grade in Daniel Mahoney's timely Monstergarten (Feiwel & Friends, 2013). Mahoney's easy-going humorous tale of pre-school anxiety is illustrated by artist Jef Kaminsky's blobby and bright little not-at-all-scary cartoon monsters (which Publisher's Weekly described as "the adorable result of a biochemical spill,") which will help youngsters understand the universality of the night-before jitters.

For more pre-school therapy, pair this one with Lola Schaefer's spoofy Frankie Stein Starts School or Natasha Wing's perennial best-seller, The Night Before Kindergarten (Reading Railroad Books).

Can't Hesitate: This Monster Cannot Wait by Bethany Barton

STEWART'S PARENTS ARE TAKING HIM CAMPING FOR THE VERY FIRST TIME.

"IT'S GOING TO BE SO MUCH FUN!

I ABSOLUTELY CAN'T WAIT!"

If everybody's waitin' for the weekend, Stewart is at the top of the list. He's over the moon excited, and can't stand the anticipation. To heck with hesitation!! Stewart wants it to happen NOW!

Impetuous preschooler Stewart just knows that there must be something he can do to speed up time. He sets the clocks ahead. He turns the calendar page. His parents just point out that those things mark time, but they aren't the same as time.

Stewart even tries building a super-duper time machine, but it seems that time is still stubbornly standing still.

"AW, MAN!"

Then Stewart has a radical idea. Hoping that the last page of this book will conclude with him and his family at their campsite, he decides that he'll shorten all the parts in between.  Maybe if he just, um, "removes" the next page or two....  RIPPP!

But this time Stewart's parents are way ahead of him, sternly handing him the tape and pointing out that he can't change time that way either. Stewart is just going to have to wait for the final page along with the rest of the usreaders.

At school Stewart takes hope from all the end-of-school activities. But his classmate Felicia is not happy.  She is already sad that she will miss all her friends during school vacation!

"YOU'RE SO WORRIED ABOUT NEXT WEEK, THAT YOU'RE MISSING RIGHT NOW!" he points out.

Aw, Man!   Stewart suddenly realizes that he's been doing the same thing! Maybe he can wait after all.

In Bethany Barton's second book about her impulsive young monster, This Monster Cannot Wait! (Dial Books, 2013) Stewart learns that anticipation is part of the pleasure in waiting for a big event. With his wild monster mouth and unruly hair, Barton's comic character, who made his debut in This Monster Needs a Haircut (see review here) reflects the monster in all those impatient preschoolers who just can't wait!