00004996

I liked Off to School, Baby Duck by Amy Hest. There was a positive message to the reader that change is a good thing. Baby duck is nervous for her first day of school and has no desire to start something new. By the end of the story, when she meets her friendly teacher and classmates, she realizes this is a good thing after all.

I loved that I could identify with baby duck. Every year I am nervous for school to start back up, and I go through all the same things that baby duck did. It is nice to see that everyone feels scared during times of change.

The cartoon-like characters illustrated by Jill Barton were very fun to look at. It almost seemed like I was watching a television cartoon. I thought it was cool that the author and illustrator used ducks instead of people. I think a child would appreciate the characters too. ( )

What a great book to share at times when a child is nervous about something new! Baby Duck's feelings are so relatable, and the resolution is perfect. I'm not the biggest fan of all the Baby Duck books, but this one is a winner!

Writing ideas:
- Do you remember how you felt on the first day of school? Were you nervous or excited? How were your feelings the same as Baby Duck's? How were they different?
- Baby's nervous feelings could apply to other new situations. Can you think of a time other than the first day of school where you were nervous or scared?
- What was Baby Duck afraid of? What helped calm her fears? ( )

This is the story of Baby Duck's first day of kindergarten and she is nervous. She's worried what if her teacher is mean, wat if she won't have any friends, and who will buckle her new shoes? I think this is a very relatable story for young children facing changes that they face growing up. Grandpa Duck knows just the right thing to say to make Baby Duck feel brave. ( )

Baby Duck was nervous about her first day of school. She did not want to go to school the first day so she took a long time getting ready. Grampa helped Baby Duck realize that going to school will be fun and not scary. Baby Duck made a new friend before shool even started! This is a good book for kindergarteners who are nervous about starting school. I liked this book because a lot of students can relate to Baby Duck.