We Are a Class

May 13, 2024
“We’re creative thinkers/ With brains to the brim./ Brave enough to go out on a limb.” Writing in tight verse that reads like an extended cheer, Sanders imagines a classroom that’s active, compassionate, and inclusive. In Abbo’s friendly illustrations, a line of doll-like children, portrayed with various abilities and skin tones, moves down a hall, chatting and carrying books. Spreads show the students dressing up for career day, reading, enjoying recess, and comforting one another when things go wrong. Toward the end of the narrative, attention turns to a newcomer, the reader, whom the students address directly, inviting them in: “You’re part of what’s us./ No need to discuss./ We’re better with you.// Do you feel it too?” Offering warm, embracing assurance that the reader will feel comfortable and safe in a new classroom, it’s a welcoming title for first days and any day. Ages 4–7.

June 15, 2024
Spend a day with a most welcoming class of students. Inside a classroom, we meet "hes and shes / And theys and mes. // With a teacher who's / Mrs. or Mr. or Miss. / Or a teacher who's / Dr. or Ms. or Mx. / A teacher loaded with teaching tricks!" Readers get an up-close glimpse of the ebbs and flows of a school day as students read, draw, nurture, discuss, debate, and do that hard work of childhood, play. "We're movers and shakers. / Mammoth change makers." Sanders employs lively, rhyming verse, each stanza loaded with uplifting, kid-engaging descriptions: "We arrive here / As hikers and bikers. / Gliders and riders. / Racers and chasers. / Challenge facers." All this gentle chaos is lovingly brought to life by Abbo's colorful, joy-infused illustrations, which also provide ample opportunity for discussion as readers see how a school day unfolds. Abbo depicts the students both as individuals and as part of a collective that's "stronger together"--a lovely touch. Reflecting the best of the world we inhabit, this class is widely diverse in terms of skin tone, size, ability, and interests. Readers are welcomed and will surely see themselves within these pages, and that's a beautiful thing. An enthusiastically inclusive treatise for kids wondering--or worrying--about what to expect from school. (Picture book. 3-8)

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August 1, 2024

PreS-Gr 2-Imagine a classroom where everyone is accepted. This book depicts what every student should experience while growing and learning. The religion you practice or the color of your skin does not matter. No one will mind if you arrive at school in a car, bus, or wheelchair. Everyone will be welcome in this place and feel safe. With the repeated refrain "We are a class," Sanders describes an environment where students can be anything they want to be: a scientist, rock star, or even a dreamer. It is a class of creative thinkers and achievement earners. All in this group are challenge-facers. They listen to and support each other and offer comfort to those who need it. No one is criticized or belittled. It is a wonderful place for all, especially the children. The rhyming text is light and fun to hear. Illustrations are colorful, but simple; there is enough to engage the reader, but not too much to overwhelm them. The pictures show a fun and caring atmosphere, where everyone is busy working with and helping each other. The main point is that everyone-including the teachers-is different. Children will see family, friends, and themselves as part of the story. This book can be shared with parents and children, teachers and students, librarians and young ones yearning to hear a story. VERDICT A fitting book to set a positive tone for the first day of school, and a fabulous story for homes, classrooms, and libraries.-Barbara Spiri

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