Books
I AM NOT GOING TO SCHOOL TODAY!

Margaret K. McElderry Books/Simon & Schuster Books for Children, July 2003

Illustrated by Jan Ormerod

I AM NOT GOING TO SCHOOL TODAY! is a picture book I had wanted to write for many years. It comes from a true story that took place the night before my older child’s first day of school. He was four years old at the time. Just as he was getting into bed, he told me that he was not going to school tomorrow. Then he told me not to worry because he would go on the second day when he would know everyone, and know where everything would be, and what would happen next. He said he just wanted to skip the first day. For the longest time, I could not figure out how to make this story into a book. But finally, I had to tackle it because I loved the story. And I love the illustrations Jan Ormerod has created — caring illustrations that reflect just how the child in this book is feeling from moment to moment. I love the way that through her art, she created the beginning of a school friendship between the child in this story’s stuffed monkey Hank and another child’s stuffed bear.

As I try to do in all the picture books I write, I wanted to give voice in this book to the concerns, strong feelings and even the humor surrounding a topic that is central to all children’s lives-attachment to and separation and independence from those we love the most and who love us the most. I chose to write in the first person because I wanted young children to identify with the voice of the child in this book.

- People magazine Spotlight on Picture Books (great new picture books for 2-8-year-olds)

“The duo behind “Goodbye Mousie” aptly handles the emotion of first-day-of-school jitters in [read more]

-Publishers Weekly, May 26, 2003

“The first day of school is a daunting prospect, best avoided. For starters, how’s a kid supposed [read more]

-www.parentingandliving.com

“A little boy makes a clear statement about what he thinks of the first day of school in “I am not [read more]

-The Courier-Times, August 12, 2003

“One the eve of the first day of preschool, a boy’s excitement turns to apprehension, and he [read more]

-The Horn Book Guide, July-December 2003

“The team of Harris and Ormerod once again create a reassuring title with utter purity of feeling. [read more]

-Kirkus Reviews, June 15, 2003

“Harris writes a delightful story about a little boy who decides the night before school starts [read more]

-Judy McAulay, The Clarion-Ledger, August 10, 2003

“The duo behind “Goodbye Mousie” aptly handles the emotion of first-day-of-school jitters in this [read more]

-The Los Angeles Times Book Review, July 13, 2003

“The first day of school is a daunting prospect, best avoided. For starters, how’s a kid supposed [read more]

-Karin Snelson, Booklist, August 2003

“The wee narrator is calm. His new backpack is on the bed, the dinosaur T-shirt is picked out. No [read more]

-Mary Harris Russell, Chicago Tribune, July 20, 2003, Daily Press, July 29, 2003

“I Am NOT Going To School Today just about says it all for the new first-day-of-school book by [read more]

-Christian Science Monitor, August 7, 2003

“A young boy decides he isn’t going to school in “I am NOT Going to School Today!” After pondering [read more]

-Carl Harvey, The Noblesville Ledger, September 9, 2003