Miss Bindergarten Gets Ready for Kindergarten by Joseph Slate, Puffin, Ashley Wolff (Illustrator)

From the Publisher

It's the first day of kindergarten and Miss Bindergarten is hard at work getting the classroom ready for her twenty-six new students. Meanwhile, Adam Krupp wakes up, Brenda Heath brushes her teeth, and Christopher Beaker finds his sneaker. Miss Bindergarten puts the finishing touches on the room just in time, and the students arrive. Now the fun can begin! This rhyming, brightly illustrated book is the perfect way to practice the alphabet and to introduce young children to kindergarten.

"Multifaceted and appealing, this book can be enjoyed in many ways, at home and at school."
-The New York Times Book Review

Publishers Weekly

Any child made anxious by the first day of kindergarten should find great comfort in this book's two parallel stories: 26 young animalsfrom an alligator named Adam to a zebra named Zachget ready for their first day of school, while a teacher named Miss Bindergarten is hard at work preparing herself and her classroom for their arrival. Wolff and Slate (previously teamed in Who Is Coming to Our House?) boost the confidence of their audience by showing that Miss Bindergarten, a gentle-looking black-and-white dog in a green dress, is slightly more harried in her preparations than her students. Except for a genuinely reluctant iguana named Ian, who is dragged crying from the door of his house by his mother, the kindergarteners appear not only self-reliant but eager. Slate's text has a comforting, familiar rhythm ("Brenda Heath brushes her teeth/ Christopher Beaker finds his sneaker"), while Wolff's richly colored, busy illustrations display a keen and sympathetic eye for children's dress and behavior. The book concludes with a winning set of class portraits, each of Miss Bindergarten's pupils (except poor Ian) grinning into the "camera," the picture of self-assurance. Ages 3-6. (Sept.)

Children's Literature

The first day of kindergarten can be a time of anxiety, excitement or even fear. These emotions are all addressed as Miss Bindergarten and her soon-to-be students each prepare for their upcoming first day of class. Children will be entertained and educated along the way through rhyming text and humorous, lively watercolor and gouache illustrations. The book serves double duty as a highly entertaining alphabet book and as a guide to what children can look forward to on their own first day of kindergarten.

Children's Literature

This is a charming story that is also an ABC book that both teaches and entertains. Ms. Wolff gives us a behind the scenes look at Miss B. as she prepares for that first day of school. The animal kindergartners are full of fun as they get ready: "Jesse Sike pedals her bike. Kiki Wong hops along. Lenny Loome says, 'Vroo-vroo-vroom!'" The expressions on the faces of these 5-year-olds are truly winning. Teachers will appreciate Miss B's efforts to make her room attractive.

School Library Journal

PreS-KAs Miss Bindergarten, a black-and-white dog in teacher's clothing, prepares herself and the classroom for her new students, the children are also preparing for their first day at school. In alphabetical order, each of the 26 kindergartners is introduced through cleverly rhymed text with intermittent scenes of the classroom being transformed by the creative instructor. Watercolor and gouache illustrations are bright, expressive, and filled with humorous details. On the final page individual pictures of the class are displayed from Adam the alligator, Quentin the quokka, and Vicki the vole to Zach the zebra. A super animal-alphabet book with a clever twist.Virginia Opocensky, formerly at Lincoln City Libraries, NE

Kirkus Reviews

An inviting look at the first day of school in Miss Bindergarten's class. The simple rhyming text tells how the animal children get ready for the big event; as a bonus, the names of the students are listed alphabetically, each first letter corresponding to its animal type (Jessie is a jaguar, Zak is a zebra, etc.): "Gwen McGunny/packs her bunny./Henry Fetter/fights his sweater." The procession is interspersed with the preparations of Miss Bindergarten, aided by her pet cockatoo, in her classroom. Wolff's fine illustrations add texture to a fairly simple concept. The teacher is depicted as an efficient sheepdog; eager and organized, she tapes notes on her furniture reminding her to "have fun," yet forgets to take the price tag off her dress. The use of extinct animals for the more obscure letters only adds to the fun. In this soothing introduction to an anxiety-filled event, Slate (Who Is Coming to Our House?, 1988, etc.) makes the first day a pleasure for everyone involved.

Product Details