The Horn Book Guide

PRESCHOOL

Calabrese, Keith

Lena's Shoes Are Nervous: A First-Day-of-School Dilemma

40 pp. | Atheneum | July, 2018 | Trade ISBN 978-1-5344-0894-4 $17.99 | Ebook ISBN 978-1-5344-0895-1

(2) PS Illustrated by Juana Medina. Lena isn't nervous to start kindergarten...but her shoes are. Lena enlists her headband (who is "a good listener") to talk to them, and, with fears assuaged and a bit of reverse psychology, Lena and her outfit make it to the first day. Child-friendly digital illustrations depict the shaking shoes; the happy results of previous times Lena was brave; and, finally, everyone's shoes mingling happily on the playground.

Reviewer: Elissa Gershowitz | Horn Book Magazine Issue: September, 2018