SCHOOL OF FISH, by Jane Yolen and Mike Moran, Simon Spotlight, July 2, 2019, Hardcover, $17.99 (ages 4-6)
From author Jane Yolen comes a Level 1 Ready-to-Read story bursting with all the excitement and a little bit of the nervousness that color a fish’s first day at a new school.
I look around.
What do I see?
Another fish who’s just like me!
A little scared.
A little new.
All alone and feeling blue.Starting at a new school is never easy, but it can also be really exciting. Beginning readers can follow along as one intrepid little fish goes through the many emotions associated with a new school experience! —Synopsis provided by Simon Spotlight
My daughter starts Kindergarten next week. She’s very excited, and I think if she hadn’t been to preschool there, and at another school, she would probably nervous. School of Fish embraces all the emotions surrounding the first day of school.
The suggested age range is 4-6. I would bump it down to 3 — not because they will be able to read it on their own — but because of subject matter.
My one complaint would be that each publisher offers their own set of early readers with their own set of levels. What may be Level One with one set of books could be Level Two or Pre-Level with another. For us, School of Fish was too simple, but she enjoyed it nonetheless.
The review copy I received is hardback, which, it turns out makes it harder for a child to read because it doesn’t lie flat. At $4.99 the paperback option seems like a better overall option.
