100 School Days

By Deborah Frenkel & Laura Stitzel

Reviewed by Margarite Igras

Australian author Deborah Frenkel has written this story based on her daughter’s experiences in her first year of school. It is a celebratory story that will connect with parents, school children and those preppies about to enter school for the first time. Together with Laura Stitzel’s, detailed, animated, and bright illustrations, the pages are filled with busy activities and the joys of learning.

Lee is dressed in her unform ready for her first day of school. The 1^st day is a big one … but soon, the days pass with all kinds of activities. There is the excitement of the first excursion, making new friends, Singing, swinging, cake-stall- bringing, participating in the first sports day and the extraordinary magic that happens when marks on a page turn into letters…and then words. As the first 100 days approaches, the children prepare to welcome parents into the school and perform on stage clad in op shop clothes, talcumed hair and granny glasses as they become proud 5-year-old centenarians.

The colourful end pages focus on little hands learning to hold a crayon and make colourful marks and shapes. The joyous cover of the book, beams with children having fun and draws the reader into the book. The text is limited but together with the combination of watercolour, ink and paint illustrations, every page is filled with vibrant colour and children engaged in various activities. There is much to see and discuss.

This is a great gift for children about to start school because it doesn’t just focus on the first 100 days but also the endless learning possibilities ahead.

Affirm Press 2024