New Picture Book Review: The Last Day of Kindergarten

By Nancy Loewen
Illustrated by Sachico Yoshikawa
Call Number: E Loeman, N.
Best for Ages 4-7

I’ve been waiting for summer and now it’s just around the corner! Time to review one of our new picture books: Nancy Loewen’s Last Day of Kindergarten.

In this story we follow a girl through her last day of kindergarten with all of her colorful pink-cheeked friends in Mrs. Popinski class—she reminisces about what it was like on the first day of kindergarten—when her crayons were all pointy and new, and all the fun things they did in the school year like playing Grocery Store, or dressing up for Halloween, and even losing her first tooth.

During the last day of kindergarten her class cleans up the room, then dons mortarboards (those funny flat graduation hats) made from construction paper and yarn and has a graduation ceremony for friends and family (which explains the predominance of little boys wearing neck ties to kindergarten—something that didn’t seem quite normal in the first few pages.)

My favorite part about The Last Day of Kindergarten is that it really captures the feelings of the last day of school: sadness that something is ending, but excitement for summer, and anticipating what the next school year will bring. In first grade the class will eat lunch in the cafeteria, make new friends and play on the big kid’s playground. While the details of this girls’ story may not fit exactly with what happens with your child’s last day of kindergarten this certainly is a great book to check out and discuss with your class or to read one-on-one with your child getting ready for their last day of school.

Click here to view this title in the catalog

-JW-

Posted in: New Book Review,Picture Books