First Day, Hooray!

Using declarative couplets that center emotional recognition, Sobel cheers on students experiencing a range of first-day feels. “Out of sight and stashed away,/ feelings visit us all day,” reassure early lines that urge mindful awareness. From happiness and worry to bravery and embarrassment, the text describes a full range of emotions, usefully pointing to breathwork as a resource during moments of stress: “What’s up, ANGER? Take time out./ Tame the flame. Breathe in. Breathe out.” Adani’s light-filled, spatter-textured artwork presents students of different skin tones in classic classroom and schoolyard scenes, visualizing emotions via bursts of color and animal avatars that peek out from behind students (an octopus, for example, proves emblematic of curiosity, and jellyfish of calm). An endnote discusses emotional expression and regulation. Ages 4–8. (June)