13. Stuart Goes to School by Sara Pennypacker

Stuart Goes to School by Sara Pennypacker. Illustrated by Martin Matje. (Canada) - (US)
The Amazing World of Stuart, 2

Pages: 58
Ages: 6+
Finished: Jan. 16, 2011
First Published: 2003
Publisher: Scholastic
Genre: children, humour
Rating: 3/5


First sentence:

As soon as he woke up, Stuart knew it was going to be a bad day.

Acquired: Bought a used copy at a book sale.

Reason for Reading: Honestly, the illustrations had me!

This is a cute little story in a chapter book format that is really intended for reading aloud. Being about a third grader it certainly is for the younger crowd but elementary students will probably have a hard time reading it themselves as it is not exactly an easy read and the print is quite tiny. No, this story is going to be much more appreciated as a read aloud.

It's the first day of school once again and Stuart, constant worrier, has even more things to worry about than usual. But with the help of his magical cape he made for himself he thinks he'll be able to make it big at school this year. Well, magic doesn't always work the way you want it to and Stuart ends up having some hilarious adventures and in the end the cape does help him make friends but not because of the magic. The last page contains a step-by step "how to draw Stuart" which looks simple enough for anyone to try. The illustrations throughout are really adorable and this is a fun, quick read.