Customer Reviews

Amanda Pig, First Grader (Oliver & Amanda Pig Books)

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Amanda was all excited about the first grade and could hardly wait to get to school. There would be all kinds of interesting changes and the biggest one of all was that she would learn to read. Her friend Lollipop wasn't all that crazy about the whole idea and was worried about all kinds of things. Amanda tried to reassure her by saying, "First grade is going to be great!" They were going to be in Mrs. Mary Ann Pig's first grade room six and things looked promising.

Promising things started to look kind of bad. Amanda really couldn't read (the words "I" and "and" didn't count). She didn't know her way around the school (lost is not good). She learned that big kids weren't all that nice at times (the big kids took their ball). Amanda Pig was a bit discouraged, but very soon things would start to look up for her!

Amanda Pig, first grader, faced issues that many grade school children do. Children anticipate that everything will be wonderful, but the little things soon get in the way and can become quite discouraging. Jean Van Leeuwen's story of Amanda's school woes and the happy resolution will encourage and inspire many young children. Things usually do get better and brighter! Of course Ann Schweninger's illustrations always add just the right zing to make these stories even more charming and appealing.

I sent this book to my granddaughter who is entering first grade. She enjoys book series like this one, and sometimes needs a few ideas about how to deal with uncomfortable school situations. As a mother and educator, I thought the book was fairly reassuring, and pretty good about Amanda's solutions to problems. It wasn't perfect (not everyone has a big brother whom bullies respect), but I was glad the story showed that principals can be kind, and kids who find some things hard can still do other things well. Teachers who read this book should take note that when Amanda had difficulty reading, the teacher helped her by showing confidence in Amanda: sending her on an errand down the hallway. Hurray for compassionate teachers and principals!

My little kindergardener loved the story and I've been reading it to her three days in a row. I think, she can identify the worries and problems that little kids have at school sometimes (anxiety, getting lost in the corridors, interaction with bigger kids, etc.).
Also, the story how Amanda started reading (she knew the letters, but could not put them into words, but suddenly, one day she read "Once upon a time..." and continued; and although she did not know all the words yet, she could understand the story and was not afraid to proceed) had an interesting effect - next day after reading it for the first time my daughter announced - "I can read!" (just like Amanda), and read me one chapter of "Little bear" book for beginner readers. I was very happy! I think, story about Amanda helped with this barrier, when a child knows the letters and can put words together, but the skill of reading is still not quite there yet.