K-Gr. 2. For all the fuss about the beginning of school, only a handful of picture books take place at the end. Here, Mrs. Hartwell's class, a tight-knit group, sympathetically imagines how much their teacher will miss them over the summer: "While we're swimming, she'll be reading her old lesson plans." They decide to do what they can to cheer Mrs. Hartwell, soon to be devastated by their absence. There's an undertone of irony here, which adults may pick up sooner than children. Despite the mournful, last-day-of-school scene the children imagine (when the final school bus pulls away, a crew of bereft and bawling teachers remains on the steps), the book's last in-school scene shows a conga line of happy teachers bouncing down the hallway. The comic exaggeration in the vivid, colorful illustration makes this a lively choice for sharing with school groups, and the wordless illustrations on the last page show what Mrs. Hartwell really does over the summer. Carolyn Phelan
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About the Author
Julie Danneberg is the author of several books for children, including FIRST DAY JITTERS, FIRST YEAR LETTERS, LAST DAY BLUES, COWBOY SLIM, and FAMILY REMINDERS. She lives in Denver, Colorado.