Yeti Is Not Ready for School

PreS-Gr 1–Tomorrow is the first day of monster school and the “fire-breathing moths” in Yeti’s stomach are conquering her cool. The anxious blue yeti plots ways to finagle out of going to school. Yeti claims that her pet goat ate her pencil, but her dad produces a bulk supply of extras. After Yeti intentionally loses her backpack in the refrigerator, her dad pulls it out, saying, “Looks like your bag has found its cool! We’ll work on yours.” Yeti’s dad delivers an optimistic pep talk when he drops her off the next morning, drawing attention to her breath and encouraging open-mindedness about starting school. When Yeti apprehensively enters her new school, she notices that the other ghoulish pupils are worried, too; a purple unicorn wonders if they are too sparkly, a nervous vampire’s teeth shake, and a ghost hopes they are invisible. Does the first day of school give everyone the shivers? Carter’s colorful cartoon illustrations are bold and bright. Front endpapers depict Yeti’s cherished memories before her first day of school and back endpapers depict the new memories she creates with her friends from school. “Howls, growls, and vowels,” may echo from the pages of this story, as will the supportive message that there is space for anxious feelings on the first day of school.