Finson, Carrie. Hurry, Little Tortoise, Time for School! Illustrated by Erin Krann. Random House, 2022. 978-0-593-30566-9.  Unpaged. $17.99. Grades PK-3.

Little Tortoise is excited (and a little nervous) for the first day of school. Armed with her racing helmet and intent to be on time, she heads out the door with determination. She starts strong, but soon her classmates start zipping past her… And then she gets lost, (literally) in the middle of the book. Discouraged, Little Tortoise is close to giving up by the time she FINALLY reaches school. Fortunately, her teacher, Mr. Sloth, is late too, and lends a helping hand and some much-needed encouragement.

THOUGHTS: Hurry Up, Little Tortoise, Time for School! will take a welcome spot in my “Welcome Back” display in September. Its strength is the creativity in illustrations when Little Tortoise disappears into the gutter in the center of the book… and then re-emerges a few pages later. I appreciate that one of the first books many readers will gravitate to during back-to-school time has such an unexpected surprise that quickly shows readers to expect the unexpected. Not lost on the reader (especially adults reading to children) will be gentle messages about differences, perseverance, first-day jitters, and the encouragement adults can and do give children every day.  

Picture Book          Hannah J. Thomas, Central Bucks SD