Back to School: Planet Kindergarten by Sue Ganz-Schmitt

TODAY IS LIFTOFF.

I SUIT UP. DAD HELPS ME WITH MY GEAR.

INTO THE ROCKET!

BOOSTERS FIRE...  BLAST OFF!

There are times in life when a person just has to boldly go...into a new frontier... into a new place in space... even into the world of Planet Kindergarten.

This little astronaut has all the right stuff his mission requires... he hopes! But what if his lunch floats off into outer space?

There's plenty to worry about as the family space shuttle searches for a place to dock, but once inside the big space station, he gets the idea that this command crew knows the drill.

WE ARE ALIENS FROM MANY GALAXIES.
OUR COMMANDER GIVES US OUR FLIGHT PLANS FOR THE DAY.

The little crew mates notice that things in their pod are different from home. There's a different atmosphere here. Even gravity seems to be altered.

WE HAVE TO TRY TO STAY IN OUR SEATS. AND OUR HANDS GO UP A LOT!

It is a new environment, and some of the rookies can't help eyeing the escape hatch. But their training prevails, and they soon get to work executing their mission. Planet Kindergarten is a whole new world, but it is a stimulating one, and before the crew knows it, it's time for splashdown on their home planet ... until tomorrow, when their explorations continue.

Author Sue Ganz-Schmitt's& Planet Kindergarten (Chronicle Books, 2014) offers a unique concept of Kindergarten as a voyage to a different world--which in many ways it is. Some kids contemplating the liftoff to Kindergarten will like to think of themselves as intrepid astronauts on a mission to explore a new world, and artist Shane Prigmore's retro space cartooning, set in digital electric colors against glossy black backgrounds, offers plenty of visual humor in his spoof of the Jetsons-style school that will give rising Kindergartners a giggle and perhaps a new, more heroic view of their mission. "A genius way to ease kids into the new adventure," intones Kirkus Reviews.

Back to School: Monkey Not Ready for Kindergarten by Marc Brown

Monkey's got a bad case of the Kindergarten jitters.

With just one week to go to the big day, those unknowns, the WHAT IFs, are worrying.

WHY DOES MONKEY NEED TO GO TO KINDERGARTEN ANYWAY?

HE ALREADY CAN COUNT TO 12, AND HE USUALLY REMEMBERS MOST OF THE ALPHABET?

But what if--he misses the bus... makes no friends.... can't locate the bathroom in time... can't stomach the lunches.... and forgets the whole alphabet?

But mom and dad reassure Monkey that he IS going to be ready.

First things first. Mom takes Monkey to pick out the perfect lunch box and promises to pack nothing with peas in it. Monkey gets a new backpack, and he and Mom and Dad read books about the first day of school.

But Monkey still does not feel ready.

THE DAY BEFORE KINDERGARTEN, MONKEY HAS A PLAYDATE WITH SOME KIDS WHO ARE GOING TO BE IN HIS CLASS.

His friends are full on enthusiasm about all the things to look forward to: The cubbies have their names painted on them! Their teacher is very nice! The playground has great slides and monkey bars. What's not to like?

And when the first day of Kindergarten dawns, Monkey is ready.

The beloved author-illustrator Marc Brown, creator of Arthur and D.W.'s aardvark adventures, takes on Kindergarten anxiety headlong by pointing out things to do to head off the worst case scenarios that new students imagine, and Monkey feel ready to handle what comes when he waves goodbye in Brown's latest, Monkey: Not Ready for Kindergarten (Alfred A. Knopf Books, 2015). Knowledge is power, and armed with information about Kindergarten, this newbie feels empowered. For more pre-Kindergarten prep, pair this one with Katie Davis' Kindergarten Rocks! (review here) or Sue Ganz-Schmitt's Planet Kindergarten (see review here.).