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There's nothing like those first-day-of-school jitters, and when you're the new kid on the block, it's even more nerve-racking. So imagine how it would feel to be the new kid on the planet! Participants in a galactic space exchange program, Johnny Smith (a.k.a. Blast Off Boy) from Earth and Blorp Glorp from planet Meep are preparing for day 1 in their respective new elementary schools. B... More

There's nothing like those first-day-of-school jitters, and when you're the new kid on the block, it's even more nerve-racking. So imagine how it would feel to be the new kid on the planet! Participants in a galactic space exchange program, Johnny Smith (a.k.a. Blast Off Boy) from Earth and Blorp Glorp from planet Meep are preparing for day 1 in their respective new elementary schools. Blast Off, visiting Meep, is simultaneously blas� and anxious. Blorp, on Earth, is so excited he keeps floating up to the ceiling. The story alternates between these two boys' points of view, describing in all-too-painful detail that new-school feeling of just plain not belonging.

In pictures and text, Yaccarino eloquently captures those alienating moments--on the school bus ("Swell, the only free seat is next to a kid with two heads. Gross."), in the classroom ("Would you tell us the square root of .769FQ87-1/2?"), and the lunchroom ("'Oh boy!' cried Blorp. 'Titanium Tetrazzini! You want some?'"). Fortunately, as is usually the case in these situations, both boys eventually begin to find their niches. This excellent story is for any child about to embark on a brand-new, kind of scary experience. Yaccarino, with his appealing retro-futuristic pictures, is the author-illustrator of many quirky picture books, including Zoom! Zoom! Zoom! I'm Off to the Moon!. (Ages 4 to 8) --Emilie Coulter

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