Beckmeyer, Drew. The First Week of School. Atheneum Books for Young Readers, 2024. 978-1-665-94042-9. $18.99. 48 p. Grades K-3.
An inventor, an artist, a group describing themselves as the Sports Kings, Pat the bearded dragon, and a teacher begin The First Week of School. Nobody sits at an empty desk saved for a student who will arrive later in the week. As the chaotic first week begins, the artist is feeling self-doubt, the inventor is frustrated, the Sports Kings argue more than they actually play, the teacher drinks a great deal of coffee, and Nobody arrives from outer space. No one notices Nobody (except of course for Pat), but Nobody notices everything. By the end of the week Nobody and Pat are the best of friends, the Sports Kings have stopped arguing, and Nobody has displayed the artist’s drawings all over the room. Missing his extraterrestrial family, Nobody heads back home, leaving new parts for the inventor’s time machine – which when activated brings us back to the beginning of The First Week of School.
THOUGHTS: This is a delightfully quirky peek into an elementary classroom buzzing with excitement over the start of a new year. A great deal of humor that will be appreciated by students and adults alike.
Picture Book
