The Great Kiwi School Day product reviews

Mr Four starts school next year, but he knows much of what to expect as Miss Five is already an expert. However, there is still the anticipation of facing a new situation and worrying that there will be too many difficult things to deal with at once. Having his "own" book about what to expect has proved to be a great way for him to think things through. Big sisters are good in some ways, but they forget too soon what it was like on that first day - so this is a book for every four-year-old to prepare in advance. No doubt it will be brought out frequently during the months in the lead-up to that first day at school.

It was not long before Mr Four was flicking through the pages himself and asking questions - which his big sister was only too happy to answer. She picked out the things that were the same in her own school, and was pleased to discover that the classroom in the book was almost a mirror image of her own. Even the teacher's desk and the book the teacher was reading from were familiar. Mr Four was intrigued by the variety of activities the children took part in, and was happy to see there would be play time outside as well as formal learning in the classroom. The children all looked happy and relaxed, and the teacher appeared to be friendly and very approachable.

Jamie, the little boy who is the main character, thoroughly enjoys his first day at school. In the course of the day, he encounters some of the values that he needs to be a functioning member of society. A child is never too young to learn those skills! He starts by finding a friend from his kindy is at the same school, and realises that more of those kindy friends might be here too. However, the rest of the children are just as friendly so it does not really matter - he will just add to his circle of friends. During that first day, he learns about working as part of a team, helping others, being respectful, and finding out about other cultures. At the end of the book is a graphic showing all the life skills young children acquire as they settle into their new environment. Even though four- and five-year-olds may not be able to verbalise these values, they learn to apply them through practice and example.

Miss Five was fascinated to learn that not all primary schools have a uniform. She had learned something new as well! Both children also spent a lot of time examining each picture since there is so much detail in each. Miss Five was able to read some of the text herself; the simple layout and the use of text bubbles made it highly accessible. Of course, she could then read it to her brother until he too understood each word. Both of them commented on the different things each child was doing, even down to the little boy picking his nose! Clearly, he was quite relaxed about being at school. Hopefully, Mr Four will have an equally smooth transition and will bounce home full of positivity at the end of his first day at school.

I am currently working in our local small rural school, and working in the junior classroom I have seen numerous new entrants coming for school visits that are very nervous and not knowing what to expect. When I saw 'The Great Kiwi School Day' available to review I felt like it would be a perfect book to have on hand to help ease some of their anxiety, thankfully I was lucky enough to receive a copy and I decided to read it with my children first.

The first thing that grabbed my attention was the cover is so vibrant and has lots of happy looking children in various situations which happen during a typical day at our school. My children and I are huge Donovan Bixley fans and have the majority of the books written by them, so we knew that we would most likely enjoy this book.
Upon opening the book, on the inside cover there are images of items that would be found in the classroom, in the next pages we are introduced to a young child and their Grandpa on their way to the first day of school. The story focuses on making friends, the different routines that happen such as putting your bag away, sitting on the mat, writing, and mathematics, to name just a few routines.

Throughout the book the illustrations are realistic, eye-catching colours, and the images add to the engagement of the storyline. The author has managed to input some Te Reo Māori throughout the pages, and this is helpful as Te Reo is a large part of our day-to-day at our school. I enjoyed how the author has included the learning aspect alongside the fun play setting as well, so that makes it easier for young ones to realize that yes, they have to do learning, but they can have fun along the way.

I would highly recommend this book for children that are due to start school, as a way to ease their nerves and become accustomed to what their school day may look like, this also normalizes the use of Te Reo phrases in everyday situations. My children and I are eagerly awaiting to see what fantastic book gets released from Donovan Bixley next!