The gray-and-black–striped kitten star of this gently humorous picture book is sure to win hearts as she makes her way through the school day.
Little Lola wakes up "extra early" on her park bench and decides to "have an adventure." A pair of castoff pink sunglasses, jeans skirt, candy-stripe top, sneakers and backpack give her just the props the feline needs to head onto a school bus and see what awaits her. Husband-and-wife collaborators Julie Saab and David Gothard let youngsters just starting school step into Lola's shoes as she discovers "a place for everything and everyone at school." The cat practices writing (her name) and reading, adding (goldfish crackers to a bowl) and subtracting (eating them all: "yum!"). In the illustrations, Lola maintains her feline qualities (she paints by paw print and hides in her backpack with her tail giving her away) while also serving as appropriate stand-in for new students navigating their way through their first day. A clue during story time hints at the show-and-tell chaos to come (Lola's mouse gets loose), but Lola does a massive clean-up and heads back home to her bench, her adventure completed.
Lola's many successes will help give first-time kindergartners confidence that they, too, will be able to adjust to this new environment and learn the ropes. --Jennifer M. Brown, children's editor, Shelf Awareness