The story made me feel excited to start kindergarten. It tells me that I will make new friends. It sounds like kindergarten will be fun. I’ll get to paint and I’ll clean up my messes. I’ll get to play. I liked The Last Day of Kindergarten because it’s such a good book. My favorite part w... more

The story made me feel excited to start kindergarten. It tells me that I will make new friends. It sounds like kindergarten will be fun. I’ll get to paint and I’ll clean up my messes. I’ll get to play. I liked The Last Day of Kindergarten because it’s such a good book. My favorite part was when they were peeking in to see the crowd. I really liked their hats. It made me happy that their mom and dad was there, too. I think other kids will like this book, too. They should read it and keep it forever. They should even keep it for their kids. ~Alexandra, 5 years old, almost a kindergartner~ I chose The Last Day of Kindergarten by Nancy Loewen in the hopes that it would help to ease some of my daughter’s worries about kindergarten, even though the story itself is clearly about the end of kindergarten. I was not disappointed. The story covers many aspects of kindergarten, from the first day all the way until the last. The intended message of helping a child just finishing kindergarten to be happily and comfortably prepared to transition into the first grade was well done. I am positive that many kindergartners are worried about what will happen when they come back for first grade in the fall. This book is a great way to help ease those fears. The story line flows nicely. It starts off a little sad and as the story progresses you can feel the excitement building. “I did it! First grade here I come!” This is probably exactly the flow of emotions a kindergartner feels on the last day. The illustrations are very bright and eye catching. There is a softness to the illustrations that keeps them well-blended to the page. Even the illustrations build with excitement. Sachiko Yoshikawa did a beautiful job with these illustrations. Nancy Loewen did an excellent job with this book, and I recommend it to all mothers of kindergarten aged children. ~Tiffany A. Higgins, children’s author~

The last day of school can be sad, scary, exciting and even hopeful. For one little girl finishing Kindergarten, the last day of school is all these feelings. Lucky for her and all of her classmates, their wonderful teacher is there. Discussing the parts of Kindergarten that were fun and the part... more

The last day of school can be sad, scary, exciting and even hopeful. For one little girl finishing Kindergarten, the last day of school is all these feelings. Lucky for her and all of her classmates, their wonderful teacher is there. Discussing the parts of Kindergarten that were fun and the parts that they are all going to miss the most. Helping the children to face their fears of what will be found in First grade by talking about what they are looking forward to the most, what they can expect and what will be the same. The sadness of the last day turns to fun as the day becomes a celebration of accomplishments. The proud Kindergarten class gets a chance to show what they have learned in front of family then proceed in becoming a First graders. **** Fantastic storyline that is easy to relate to. I may not remember my own time spent in Kindergarten but watching my children go through it was almost as good. While I think that the book could have flowed better between remembering their time in class and their anticipation of the future. Or touched some of the deeper concerns of this emotional time for kids. I appreciated how simple it was to start the “I remember when” conversations with kids about their time in Kindergarten. I believe that point is to make the transition easier on the child and this story just might help. The illustrations by Sachiko Yoshikawa are colorful and happy, they do a great job of depicting the story as it is told. I have already offered to donate the book to a favorite Kindergarten teacher in our Elementary school. I hope she and all her classes to will enjoy it as much as my family has.