Kindergarten Rocks! [Paperback]

Katie Davis (Author)

Book Description

Age Level: 4 and up | Grade Level: P and up

Dexter already knows everything there is to know about kindergarten. His big sister, Jessie, told him all about it. So Dexter is not scared. Not even a little bit. But his stuffed dog, Rufus, is scared. Actually, he’s terrified. But Dexter--er, Rufus--has nothing to fear: As he’ll soon find out, kindergarten rocks!

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Dexter Dugan is about to start kindergarten, and his stuffed dog, Rufus, "is an eensy teensy beensy bit scared" about it. Thankfully, Dex's third-grader sister, Jessie, sees that her brother is really the scared one and sets about cheerfully reassuring her sibling: "Don't worry, kindergarten rocks," says a cartoon bubble extending from Jessie. Dex's first-person narration maintains his false bravado. "I got Jessie to help me make a list of things Rufus was scared about. I'm not worried, though," reads the text, as Jessie busily writes at a desk, a flurry of papers swirling around her ("What if my teacher is mean?" reads one page, "What if I have to go #2?" reads another). The interplay of Dex's narrative, which addresses readers directly, and his cartoon-bubble exchanges with his sister respectfully and humorously covers a new student's cornucopia of concerns. Davis's (Who Hoots?) colorfully crayoned illustrations maintain an upbeat tone, even when Dex loses Rufus in class. The buoyant vignettes of Dex enjoying himself at school will reassure even the most fearful of the pre-kindergarten set. Ages 4-6. (July)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

From School Library Journal

PreSchool-K–According to Dexter, he is totally calm about starting kindergarten, but his stuffed dog, Rufus, is fearful about the bus finding the way to school, getting lunch, being tagged as the only one who can't read, and getting a mean teacher. (Dexter, of course, isn't worried about anything.) His big sister, Jessie, has prepared him well and offers him some smart advice: If Rufus gets scared, just give him a hug. Upon arriving, Dexter finds that his best friend from preschool is in his class. Among other activities, he gets to write letters, cook food, and play in the school's imagination station. The library has books to borrow, and the cafeteria is exactly almost like a restaurant. In fact, Dexter is having such a great time that he forgets about his stuffed friend until he realizes that Rufus is LOST! A succession of cartoon illustrations and speech bubbles follows the large-eyed child through his first day of school. A gentle, humorous read to calm the anxiety of younger students. Pair this appealing title with Alison McGhee's Countdown to Kindergarten (Harcourt, 2002).–Mary Elam, Forman Elementary School, Plano, TX
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 4 and up
  
• Paperback: 32 pages
• Publisher: Sandpiper; 1 edition (June 1, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0152064680
• ISBN-13: 978-0152064686
• Product Dimensions: 10 x 10.1 x 0.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (16 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #29,927 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #3 in Books > 4-for-3 Books > Children's Books > Issues > First Day of School
  • #39 in Books > 4-for-3 Books > Children's Books > People & Places > Family Life > New Experiences
  • #44 in Books > 4-for-3 Books > Children's Books > People & Places > Social Issues > New Experiences

More About the Author

Parsons School of Design, Institute of Art, Rhode Island School of Design...
Katie Davis has walked by all these schools of fine art.
She has attended none of them.

Now children's author/illustrator Katie Davis has published nine books and appears monthly on the ABC affiliate show, Good Morning Connecticut, recommending great books for kids. She produces Brain Burps About Books, a podcast about kidlit (available on iTunes), with an affiliated blog and monthly newsletter. Katie volunteers in a maximum security prison teaching Writing for Children and over the last dozen years has presented at schools and writing conferences. She's a 2010 Cybils judge and has also judged the Golden Kite, smartwriters.com, and Frontiers in Writing awards. Recently Katie was selected to be on the Honorary Advisory Board for the Brooke Jackman Foundation, a literacy-based charity.

Her picture book titles include Little Chicken's Big Day (with Jerry Davis) Kindergarten Rocks!; Mabel the Tooth Fairy and How She
Got Her Job; I Hate To Go To Bed!; Scared Stiff; Who Hoots?; Party Animals; and
Who Hops? Her first novel for children is The Curse of Addy McMahon (Greenwillow).

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

22 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Start school without the jitters, August 18, 2005

By 

Toes "toniknows" (kansas city, mo United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Kindergarten Rocks! (Hardcover)

Kindergarten does rock and this book will help ease the nerves of a kindergartener to be. Dexter voices his fears about kindergarten while his older sister reassures him that everything will be fine. After a great day at school, he decides she's right, kindergarten rocks. Readers get to see some of the fun things Dex does at school while watching his fears disappear along the way. A great help for kids who want to know what to expect in kindergarten.

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Cute book, August 30, 2006

By 

Chuckiezoo (Louisville, KY United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Kindergarten Rocks! (Hardcover)

My 5 year old son loved this book before starting kindergarten this year and still loves to read it. He really related to the story since he had the same apprehensions and fears about kindergarten as the boy in the book.

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Delightful book, August 9, 2006

By 

K. Brown "alaskalady" (Anchorage, AK) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Kindergarten Rocks! (Hardcover)

With my grandson starting kindergarten in a few short weeks, we suddenly realized he didn't even know what it was! We hurried and bought this book, as well as a few others. This is the best book that we got. I like how the little boy gets to ask all his questions he is worried about. How he is a little bit afraid. And how his big sister helps him. The pictures are really fun and it is enjoyable to read outloud as well as to look at. It helped us open up some discussion with my grandson too. And I expect he will also be able to come home from his first day and say, "Kindergarten Rocks!"