ALLY-SAURUS AND THE FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL by Richard Torrey

(I received an advance copy of this book from the publisher)

When my son started Kindergarten two years ago, I was afraid about what knew social pressures he would face. Our Back to School theme for that year was taken from Sting: "Be Yourself No Matter What They Say."  I didn't want him to lose those parts of himself that were so special just to fit in with the other kids. So far so good!  If this book had been around two years ago, it would definitely have been one of his first day of school gifts.

ALLY-SAURUS AND THE FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL follows the adventures of an imaginative little girl named Ally who loves dinosaurs and likes to pretend that she is one. Ally hopes to meet other dinosaur-loving children at school. Ally quickly discovers that not all kids love dinosaurs as much as she does. Some love space and some love lions and some even like (gasp!) princesses. Ally has a difficult moment with the "princesses" when they tell her that dinosaurs are not allowed to eat at their table. She quickly meets other friends, however, and the children figure out how to play together in all their imaginative forms.

The illustrations in this book are so charming.  I love that Ally and her friends reveal their alternate identities through child-like scribbles.

I also really enjoyed how the book included some conflict and demonstrated how the children worked through this conflict. I think it is important that children understand that they will be facing new ideas and situations at school and that there are ways to figure out how to work out differences in a positive way. The book is very sweet and I loved how it ended with a visit to the school library!

BOTTOM LINE: Highly recommended!  Very sweet illustrations and a charming message about being yourself while letting others be themselves as well.