First Graders From Mars: Horus's Horrible Day [Hardcover]

Shana Corey (Author), Mark Teague (Illustrator)

Book Description

Age Level: 5 and up | Series: First Graders from Mars

Horus is exited about starting first grade. That is, until he discovers there are no slime tables, no snooze mats, and no snacks; and he gets put in the Beta reading group instead of the Alpha, and finds himself longing for the good old days of Martiangarten.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Young Martians start elementary school in this reassuring comedy, the debut of the First Graders from Mars series, in which the hero longs for the good old days of "martiangarten." Horus, a froggy-looking child with prehensile tentacles on his chartreuse head, becomes confused in his new classroom. "Where are the snooze mats? Where are the snacks?" he asks. "First graders are too big for those things," scoffs a reptilian girl with lilac hair. Horus's pink-and-green-spotted teacher (who "had eyes in the back of her head. And in the front. And on the sides") purses her lips with concern. Corey (You Forgot Your Skirt, Amelia Bloomer!) believably depicts Horus's embarrassment and his conflict with his mother, who literally drags him to school the next day. While the author doesn't examine Horus's confident classmates, she shows how Horus encourages another scared student to be brave. Teague (How Do Dinosaurs Say Goodnight?) sets the action amid a Seussian landscape of spiky mountains, purple volcanoes and green anemone with eyeballs on their stalks. His bug-eyed, rubbery-limbed aliens perform familiar tasks in comical ways (Horus reads upside-down, balancing on his own face). Like Dan Yaccarino's First Day on a Strange New Planet, this universal drama takes a shrewd but optimistic look at first grade. Ages 5-7.

Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

From School Library Journal

K-Gr 2-It's the first day of school on Mars and Horus is off to first grade. He had loved martiangarten with snooze mats, snacks, and the slime table. However, he quickly discovers that first grade is very different and he decides he doesn't like it and he doesn't want to go back. His mother returns her protesting child to school the next day and this time he meets a new student who has the same reaction he had. As Horus begins to reassure her, he forgets about his own doubts and offers to help her through her first day. First grade has become much more inviting for the two new friends. The colorful cartoon drawings complement this comic sci-fi tale with its flying cups, thinking capsules, and waving tentacles. The nonhuman students are done in assorted colors from green to purple, and the teacher, Ms. Vortex, is really a standout with eyes that are literally in the back of her head. These creatures don't just learn the right answers in math-they actually form them with their bodies. An entertaining addition to collections that need more stories about the possible anxieties and excitement of the first day of school.

Carol Schene, Taunton Public Schools, MA

Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 5 and up
  
• Hardcover: 32 pages
• Publisher: Scholastic; 1st edition (August 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0439262208
• ISBN-13: 978-0439262200
• Product Dimensions: 9.4 x 7.8 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,864,414 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

I grew up in South--in Savannah and Athens, Georgia and then Charlotte, North Carolina. When I was little, I loved stories about olden-day girls--my favorites were Betsy-Tacy, All-of-a-Kind Family, Little House On the Prairie. Imagine my delight when I went to college and discovered that I could take ENTIRE classes on (and get credit for learning about!) olden-day girls! Yay college! In college, I learned to call it women's history, but really--it was the exact same topic I'd been interested in since I was five. Now, I have the great pleasure and honor of editing books for children myself. I also write picture books, most of them true stories about brave women and girls in history--women like Amelia Bloomer and Juliette Gordon Low, who had the guts to take a stand for the things they believed in and change the world. When I'm not writing or editing, I'm usually reading with my two little boys. They like stories about oldenday girls, too (though truth be told, they prefer a good truck story).

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars First Grade, Martian Style....., August 28, 2001

By 

Roz Levine - See all my reviews

This review is from: First Graders From Mars: Horus's Horrible Day (Hardcover)

Horus couldn't wait to get to his first grade class in Pod 1. But once there, he was confused. Where was the slime table and the snooze mats and what time was snack? "First graders are too big for those things," another student informs him and Horus realizes he's not in martiangarten anymore. First grade is work, work, work, from reading to art to math problems and Horus is hungry and tired and cranky when his mother picks him up from school. How was your first day, she wants to know. "Horrible. I'm not going back!" Unfortunately, he finds out that this decision is out of his hands (or in his case tentacles), when his folks literally drag him back to school the next morning. There he finds a new little alien crying big blue tears. She's afraid school will be terrible, Horus agrees and scary, no argument there, and the teacher will be mean and the work too hard. But as Horus remembers his first day he tells her, the teacher was very nice and helpful and the work is hard, but not too hard, you can do it. Horus has a new friend, a friend who feels just like he did yesterday and needs him to help show her the ropes. So together they march inside, ready for whatever comes their way..... Shana Corey has written a delightful and humorous story that many first graders will relate to. Her simple and realistic text, complete with silly Martian language, really captures the essence of a little one moving from the safe world of kindergarten to the big unknown of first grade and is complemented by Mark Teaque's funny, expressive, colorful artwork. Together they've authored a charming story with a gentle, reassuring message that won't be lost on young readers. Perfect for kids 5-8, First Graders From Mars is just right for beginning readers and also makes a wonderful read aloud story the entire family can enjoy.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Good, Wholesome, Martian Fun!!! and WEIRD!, June 30, 2001

By 

Frank Murphy - See all my reviews

This review is from: First Graders From Mars: Episode #01: Horus's Horrible Day (Paperback)

First Graders From Mars is a super book for kids ages 4-8. It will become a staple for parents sending kids off to first grade and for first grade teachers welcoming Kindergarten graduates for the first time (Martiangarten Grads too!). Horus is a character who kids will quickly fall for...he's a kid through an through! Corey has crafted a fast-paced, easy-to-read story that gels!! It has lots of cool stuff (from a Martian girl who cries big blue tear drops out of her NOSE to a teacher who floats, has eyes in the back of her head, front, and SIDE!!!). Teague is a master and has brought the story to alien-life with bright, bold, alive illustrations. Watch this series ZOOOOOM up the bestseller lists!! Wow!!!! :)

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Very Funny from Patrick age 8, February 8, 2002

By 

Pamaloon (Maryland, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: First Graders From Mars: Episode #01: Horus's Horrible Day (Paperback)

I think this is a funny book. The aliens fly around in cups and have tenacles and all sorts of alien stuff that makes it fun to read. It's funny that they are aliens going to school. I hope she writes a Second Graders from Mars. And then Third Graders from Mars.