Brand-new Pencils, Brand-new Books

Written and illustrated by Diane deGroat
HarperCollins 2005
ISBN 006072613X
Ages 4 - 8
Order Hardcover from Diane deGroat

Book Ordering Info

IRA-Children's Book Council Children's Choice 2006

It's the first day of first grade! Gilbert is excited and nervous at the same time. He has new school supplies -- but he'll also get a new teacher, and new kids in his class. Will the teacher be nice? Will Patti still be his best friend? In this humorous and reassuring story by Diane deGroat, Gilbert learns that first grade is not what he had expected. Lewis is a bully, and Philip already knows how to read big fat books! But Mrs. Byrd is nice, and she helps Gilbert discover that everyone has his or her own special talent.

From Kirkus Reviews - deGroat ably threads her way through some well-trod ground: the first day of school. Gilbert, our favorite opossum, has a classic case of the willies as he sets out on his first day of school: Will the teacher be nice, will he be able to do the work, will he make friends? Luckily, he already has one good friend, but then there are all those other unfamiliar faces, one belonging to the loud, bullying Lewis. Then the school day gradually begins to fall into place and Gilbert finds a comfortable niche therein: a new friend, an enjoyable playground, a book to read that is a pleasing challenge. He also learns that Mr. Pug, the principal, isn't grumpy. Pugs just always look grumpy. de Groat's watercolors - with their easygoing charm - evolve from expectant to relaxed as the kids find what first-graders have always found: School rarely meets their dire predictions, and even kids like Lewis have their time-honored place.