A Shared First Step

Each year when the kindergarten students enter the library for the first time, they do so with guarded eagerness.  They are not sure what to expect, so everything done is designed to set them at ease.  They are allowed to select their seats.  The tables are covered with books ready for speedy booktalks.  We have multiple read alouds and everyone leaves wearing a newspaper sailor hat. (Tom Goes To Kindergarten by Margaret Wild and illustrated by David Legge)

Those first days are a mix of excitement and worry for the new gals and guys.  Stepping into the unknown is never easy for anyone.  Mae's First Day Of School (Abrams Books For Young Readers, July 10, 2018) written and illustrated by Kate Berube takes us on a journey of discovery.  You are truly never alone.

Today is Mae's first day of school.
When her mother said,
"It's time to get dressed!"

Mae said, "I'm not going."

No matter what her parents said, Mae replied with the same answer.  There was no way she was going to school.  Mae did go to school.  As she and her mother walked toward the building, her mother talked about all the fun things she would do.  Mae was brimming with doubt.

When they arrived at school, Mae's mother chatted with a man waiting outside with his daughter.  Mae disappeared.  She climbed into a big shady tree.  She was not leaving.

She was deciding if she could live here on this comfy branch.  A rustling sound broke into her thoughts.  A girl's head popped into view.  Rosie was not going to school either.

As the two determined girls chatted a tall lady climbed the tree up to their branch.  She was not going to school either.  Three peopled sat in a tree and none of them were going to school on their first day.  This woman, Ms. Pearl, was afraid of the same things as the two girls.  School was about to start.  What were they going to do?


Without a doubt the words of Mae,

"I'm not going!"

are uttered throughout the world by students (and staff) overly concerned about their first day of school. In the character of Mae, Kate Berube reveals universal truths.  These are further affirmed in the conversations Mae has with Rosie and Ms. Pearl.

Through a blend of narrative and dialogue the story unfolds with natural realism.  Repetition of key phrases provides a gentle cadence. When Ms. Pearl appears it supplies a special twist of humor.   The addition of Mae's cookies enriches the commonalities of the trio while initially creating a spirit of compassion.  Here is a passage.

"I'm not going to school," said Rosie.
"Me neither," said Mae.
"Would you like a cookie?"

Today is Mae and Rosie's first day of 
school, but they are not going.


When you open the dust jacket the use of white space enhances the artwork of Kate Berube.  Mae's demeanor, her hands, her feet and expression, in front of the school speaks volumes about her feelings before we even open the book.  To the left, on the back, two interior images from the classroom, one changed and the other the same, give hints as to what the story will tell us about Ms. Pearl and Rosie.

The marvelous book case on the right, the front, shows a view of Mae and Rosie seated together on the branch in the tree.  They are framed by brush strokes of leafy green.  To the left, the back, a scene of the trio gives us a view of the happy resolution.  It, too, includes a large portion of the tree.

On the opening and closing endpapers shades of bird's egg blue are marbleized across both pages.  On the title page, a hesitant Mae stands in front of the school doors.  Rendered

with ink, flash paint, acrylic paint, and colored pencils on cold press watercolor paper

the illustrations span two pages, single pages and for pacing are sometimes grouped two to a single page.  Kate Berube gives readers varying perspectives.  We are close to Mae when she utters her opinion about attending school.  When she and her mother arrive at school we are far enough away to see what the parents cannot see.  We are even farther away when we see the arrival of more students at school as well as a view of the girls in the tree.  As she did on the dust jacket, Kate uses white space to accentuate specific moments for all three characters.  It's truly wonderful the way Kate can convey emotion in her facial expressions with the smallest of details.

One of my many favorite illustrations is when Rosie climbs the tree.  This image is spread across two pages.  To the right we are looking down at Mae's legs hanging over the branch.  On the left, coming up the trunk is Rosie.  Her hands are placed on smaller branches to her left and right.  We see her face and a portion of her backpack.  All across the top and to the middle of the right side are green leafy branches.


Whether it's your first day of school ever or your first day of the upcoming school year, Mae's First Day Of School written and illustrated by Kate Berube will resonate with all readers.  It's a reminder of the worries we all have and how alike our worries are.  It emphasizes the value of facing fears together.  I highly recommend this title for your professional and personal collections.

To learn more about Kate Berube and her other work, please follow the links attached to her name to access her website and blog.  Kate maintains an account on Twitter.  The cover for this book with process art and explanations by Kate is shown on the site of teacher librarian Matthew C. Winner.  Kate Berube is featured at KidLit411.  

A True Heart Fights Fear

Most children feel an instant kinship with baby animals.  They want to get as close to them as possible and they long to touch them.  It's been my experience when children have the opportunity to watch an animal grow, seeing and interacting with it in a variety of stages, any fear they might have for it will be lessened.

When I was allowed to bring Xena to school as a puppy, then as a frequent visitor, the students, especially the younger ones, got to grow up with her.  A special relationship is formed in this kind of situation.  Hannah and Sugar (Abrams Books for Young Readers, March 8, 2016) written and illustrated by Kate Berube is a relevant and touching debut from this artist.

Every day after school, Hannah's papa picked her up at the bus stop.
And every day after school, Sugar was at the bus stop waiting for Violet P.

Sugar was the P family's canine companion brought each day to the bus stop by Mrs. P.  She asked Hannah if she wanted to pet Sugar.  Sugar got lots of affectionate attention from the other students on the bus.  Every day Hannah declined the invitation.

All year long the routine was the same but Hannah, regardless of the friendliness of Sugar, continued to say

"No, thank you."

Although it seemed Hannah's comfort level around Sugar was changing.

One day Mrs. P was at the bus stop alone.  Sugar had been missing all day and the previous night.  The children and their parents agreed to help find Sugar.  They looked and looked and looked until dusk and dinnertime called them inside.

As Hannah sat on her front later she imagined what it would be like to be alone, away from family.  When she was thinking it would not be a good thing, she heard a sound apart from the nighttime noises.  Hannah's investigation led her to make more than one startling discovery.  From that night forward every day after school there was a change at the bus stop.


When a child is fearful of an animal, of a dog, their fear is real and needs to be treated with tender loving care.  This is exactly how the narrative unwraps, like a gift, for readers, slowly, gently and thoughtfully.  When Kate Berube uses the words

every day after school

repeatedly as the beginning of sentences, she designs a cadence of comfort, a story rhythm.

This allows us to have greater understanding of Hannah's uneasiness.  It also makes the loss of Sugar and the subsequent events more powerful. When Berube uses it again in the closing sentences, the circle is closed.  Here is a sample passage.

After dinner Hannah watched the stars come out.
She listened to the sound of the trains in the distance
and she wondered how it would feel to be lost in the dark.


The look Hannah and Sugar are giving each other on the front of the dust jacket is one of curiosity.  The entire image is asking a question with the white space directing our attention to Hannah and Sugar.  To the left on the back of the jacket Mrs. P., Violet P. and a group of children are gathered around Sugar at the school bus stop.  This is an illustration from the interior.

The book case features two illustrations of Hannah and Sugar on a white background with the spine color the same as Hannah's jacket.  This hue is also washed on the opening and closing endpapers.  On the title page a hesitant Hannah is gazing sideways at Sugar on a leash.  Berube begins the story with an illustration spanning the verso and dedication pages of the parents and Sugar watching the arrival of the school bus.

The pictures rendered with ink, Flashe paint and acrylic paint on cold press watercolor paper by Kate Berube alternate between double-page visuals or smaller pictures grouped to show the passage of time.  A matte-finished heavier paper is an excellent canvas for her mediums.  The details, colors, facial expressions and body movements in each image contribute to a collection of endearing depictions.   One particular wordless two page picture is filled with meaning. As in many of her illustrations the use of white space is exquisite.

One of my favorite of several illustrations is of Hannah sitting on her front porch.  Above the tree lined street and row of houses the sky is studded with stars.  Lights glow from the windows of the three homes.  Hannah is surrounded by light coming from the doorway.  It's a scene filled with peace and calm but also anticipation.


Hannah and Sugar written and illustrated by Kate Berube portrays with great sensitivity the anxiety felt by some children around dogs.  As Hannah and Sugar move toward solutions for their difficulties, the story becomes a tribute to the girl and the dog.  This is a book for everyone, promoting compassion.

Please take a few minutes to learn more about Kate Berube and her work by visiting her website and blog, following the links attached to her name. Kate Berube is interviewed at This Picture Book Life.  Author, reviewer and blogger, Julie Danielson features Kate Berube introducing her work and this title in two separate blog posts here and here at Seven Impossible Things Before Breakfast.

Look at Hannah and Sugar's lovely case https://t.co/B2UqAAFr1K

— John Schu (@MrSchuReads) March 31, 2016