Each fall, students and teachers come together behind collage-decorated doors to participate in the great experiment known as school. What causes some classrooms to fizz along companionably and others to spontaneously combust? Why, chemistry of course! These four new titles by prestigious picture book authors explore how that mysterious magic can act as a catalyst for community, cooperation, imagination and independence.
Dozens of beloved early-childhood classroom activities and objects spill across the pages of 100 THINGS I LOVE ABOUT SCHOOL (Abrams Appleseed, 40 pp., $18.99, ages 3 to 5), by Amy Schwartz, in clever rhyming couplets such as “Stretch and Bend/Count to Ten” and “Lunch Box/Favorite Socks.” Though the two lines of each couplet, which often get individual illustrations, aren’t always stacked vertically — sometimes they’re side by side, or diagonally opposite each other on different pages of a spread, or even separated by a page turn — both are printed in the same color so new readers can have fun searching for the matching halves of each pair.
When Schwartz died in 2023, she had completed the text but had done only rough pencil sketches of the illustrations for this fourth installment of her “100 Things” series, which has become a cherished cornerstone of elementary “100th Day of School” celebrations. Enter Dasha Tolstikova, whose graphite and watercolor drawings of winsome, round-headed preschoolers pay tender tribute to Schwartz’s bright, kinetic style.
In STORY RUG (Little, Brown, 40 pp., $18.99, ages 4 to 6), written by the two-time Caldecott medalist Sophie Blackall and illustrated by Phoebe Wahl, a “braiding craze” has seized Room 203. Hair, toy ponies’ tails and shoelaces are all fair game. Noah is hooked after Ms. Morena rips an old whiteboard rag into three long strips for him to braid. Soon he and his classmates have pieced together a sizable rainbow braid of recycled cloth that “stretches all the way down the hallway from Room 203 to Room 201 and back again. … But what to do with it?” Noah has an idea. On Saturday, the braiders meet at the library, where they coil and stitch their handiwork into a story-time rug as a gift for their teacher.
Blackall’s soothing repetition of “left over center,” “right over center” mirrors the meditative calm of crafting. And Wahl’s folksy, digitally collaged illustrations of apple-cheeked children at work in an artfully cluttered classroom with nary an electronic device in sight are not only a loving homage to the power of vintage “grandma hobbies,” but also a charming throwback to classic picture books created by the likes of Pat Hutchins and Daniel Pinkwater.
Of course, some kids’ feelings about the educational grind aren’t quite so warm and fuzzy. When Herbie awakens one morning with a cold in A DAY OFF SCHOOL (Philomel, 40 pp., $18.99, ages 4 to 8), written by Oliver Jeffers and illustrated by Kevin Waldron, he’s thrilled to stay home. But after exhausting all his leisure options (including but not limited to couch fort building, toy car racing and playing “Space Blasters”), he finds himself wondering what might be happening in his “boring” classroom. He rapidly works himself up into a state of extreme agita as his unleashed imagination suggests scenarios like the fireworks factory dropping by to perform some experiments, or aliens landing and offering free shuttle rides.
As Herbie’s fantasies take flight, Jeffers’s whimsical signature script grows larger, and the tone of Waldron’s primarily watercolor and gouache palette shifts from moody purple and gray to brilliant scarlet, saffron and lime. Readers will enjoy tracking his ever-present orange tabby, whose round eyes mirror Herbie’s rising excitement. When Herbie finally returns to school, a fanciful surprise on the last page validates his irrepressible FOMO.
Ultimately, good classroom chemistry can spark students to move out of their comfort zones and take small but steady steps toward autonomy. As soon as Grace, the tenacious hero of WHO KNOWS THE WAY TO MR. GRIMLY’S CLASSROOM? (Candlewick, 32 pp., $18.99, ages 4 to 8), written by Chris Priestley and illustrated by Mariachiara Di Giorgio, volunteers to return Miss Flytrap’s borrowed book to Mr. Grimly’s classroom, she regrets it. The shadowy hallways in her new school (spookily rendered in Di Giorgio’s chiaroscuro watercolor and gouache) are labyrinthine and she isn’t even sure who Mr. Grimly is. Still, there’s no going back, so she bravely goes down dark stairways and up to cobwebby towers — encountering more wittily named teacher-guides, plus the friendly librarian Miss Endpaper, along the way — then takes a zip line to another building.
When she eventually arrives at her destination, she discovers the journey has given her new confidence that bolsters her when the now not-so-mysterious Mr. Grimly hands her a fresh task to fulfill. Kids will relish discovering the myriad creepy, cool details (a stray crow in the lavatory, a taxidermied crocodile in the library) that adorn this distinctly gothic school and heartily applaud Grace’s circuitous mission accomplished.
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