The Twelve Days of Kindergarten: A Counting Book

by Deborah Lee Rose, Carey Armstrong-Ellis (Illustrator), Carey Armstrong Ellis (Illustrator)

Overview

On the first day of kindergarten,
my teacher gave to me . . .
the whole alphabet from A to Z!

Drawing on the rhythm and rich repetition of the familiar carol “The Twelve Days of Christmas,” The Twelve Days of Kindergarten is a welcoming introduction to school. Upbeat text celebrates the new adventure of school, and hilariously detailed illustrations showcase kindergarteners that every child, teacher, and parent will recognize with glee. Readers of all ages will want to enroll!

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780810945128
Publisher:	ABRAMS
Publication date:	08/28/2003
Pages:	30
Sales rank:	421,370
Product dimensions:	10.12(w) x 10.62(h) x 0.37(d)
Age Range:	4 - 6 Years

About the Author

Deborah Lee Rose’s award-winning books are among the New York Public Library’s 100 Titles for Reading and Sharing. She lives in California. Carey Armstrong-Ellis‘s work has been

Carey Armstrong-Ellis has written and illustrated numerous children’s books. She is the illustrator of the bestselling books in the Twelve Days series. She lives with her family in Cape Neddick, Maine.

Editorial Reviews

While Rose (Birthday Zoo) cheerily ticks off the touchstones and tokens of kindergarten life to the tune of a Christmas classic, ("On the sixth day of kindergarten, my teacher gave to me/ six fish for feeding,/ five gold stars!/ Four puzzle shapes,/ three pencils,/ two pictures books,/ and the whole alphabet from A to Z"), Armstrong-Ellis's (Prudy's Problem: And How She Solved It) irreverent spreads tell quite another story. She creates a rather skittish blonde girl, clinging to her stuffed gorilla, as the story's narrator. The artist conveys the heroine's steadily building confidence when, at a Fire Safety assembly on the fifth day, she takes the stage, earning five gold stars. In another humorous detail, her teacher wears a dress trimmed in a flame-like motif. The classroom is stocked with cut-ups as well, among them an extremely timid girl with a death grip on her teacher's skirt and a boy who finds the contents of one nostril endlessly fascinating. Together, they innocently wreak havoc, releasing a swarm of bees at a nature museum, aiding in the escape of the classroom hamsters' many offspring, etc. The 12th day culminates with a spontaneously generated "We Love School" banner, and a hug for a now-beloved teacher; classroom leaders with a sense of humor will enjoy sharing this book at circle time. Kids, however, will get a hoot out of spotting the new and running jokes on each spread (one horse-obsessed girl evolves into an accomplished equine portraitist by book's end), and watching the teacher's best-laid lesson plans deteriorate into comic melees. Ages 4-8. (Aug.) Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information.

Publishers Weekly

"On the first day of kindergarten, my teacher gave to me the whole alphabet from A to Z" begins this variation on a familiar cumulative pattern. On each double-page the number rises, from two picture books and three pencils to ten coins for counting, eleven seeds for planting and twelve eggs for hatching. Meanwhile, the active children are busy about their typical activities guided by a creative but daily more exhausted teacher. The illustrator has created a cast of eight youngsters, each with distinctive behavior characteristics displayed scene by scene: the artist, the hyperactive boys, the girl who never lets go of the teacher's leg, etc. The myriad details of kindergarten life fill the double pages, demanding time to linger, study each child, and enjoy the hilarious fun. The colored drawings may be a bit exaggerated, but maybe not. Watching the teacher gradually get more frazzled amid the happy children will delight both young readers and empathetic adults. 2003, Harry N. Abrams,
— Ken Marantz and Sylvia Marantz

Children's Literature

PreS-Gr 1-Set to the familiar tune of "The Twelve Days of Christmas," this poem enumerates a child's experiences upon entering kindergarten. The youngster begins, "On the first day of kindergarten, my teacher gave to me the whole alphabet from A to Z!" and proceeds through 5 gold stars and ends with 12 eggs for hatching. The word "kindergarten" is unavoidably awkward and practice may be in order to perfect your delivery if you choose to sing it. The real charm of this book lies in the hilarious illustrations that chronicle the harried teacher's adventures with her new students. On art day, a boy spills a big jar of green paint, one kid picks his nose in every scene, bees get loose from a display on a field trip, and on and on. The style is reminiscent of Babette Cole's work not only in the drawings but also in the sense of humor. This one will pair nicely with Joseph Slate's excellent contributions to this subject including, Miss Bindergarten Gets Ready for Kindergarten (Puffin, 2001).-Linda M. Kenton, San Rafael Public Library, CA Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information.

School Library Journal

A delightful counting book modeled on the Twelve Days of Christmas. Rose presents the first 12 days of kindergarten through the activities of one small girl. She reads books, draws pictures, strings beads, makes puzzles, plants seeds, feeds the fish, and sorts and stacks objects. The illustrations marvelously depict the whole range of kindergarten emotions-from shy and quiet to scared or thrilled, as well as the different kinds of kids-the clumsy one, the nose-picker, the one who won't share, and the budding artist. The observant reader will pick up clever details hidden within the illustrations-the children's drawings are reproductions of famous paintings, the overfed fish gradually grow too large for the aquarium, and each turn of the page is a new step in the romance between the class hamsters. As the days go by, the poor kindergarten teacher looks more and more frazzled, while the kids make new friends, explore new things, and end up loving school. A great start. (Picture book. 4-8)

Kirkus Reviews