Walking to School: Poems

Australian poet Turner wrote this poem--which has since become a classic down under--when her five-year-old son started school. Her verses distill the essence of the emotions felt by a child on that first unaccompanied walk to school--the trepidation caused by terrors that lurk around every corner (such as fierce dogs and boisterous older boys), the determination to be brave, and the glorious hope that the preschoolers one passes will think that one is much older--seven, perhaps, or even eight. Gouldthorpe's splendid illustrations have a nostalgic turn-of-the-century look and are full of the interplay of light and shadow. Ages 4-7. (Sept.)