Tony Baloney: School Rules

Tony Baloney

by Pam Muñoz Ryan, Edwin Fotheringham (Illustrator)

Readers everywhere will adore Tony Baloney--the loveable, highly relatable hero of this bravura new Beginning Reader series!

Tony Baloney is excited!
Today he won't have to obey
Bossy Big Sister Baloney.
He won't have to play with
the Bothersome Babies Baloney.
Today he is going to school!

Tony Baloney is finally free from the tyranny of his many sisters only to face a new challenge--SCHOOL RULES! How will Tony ever follow them all? True to his resilient spirit, he discovers a first day of school filled with new friends, good fun, a few foibles, and some fantastic surprises!

Award-winners Pam Munoz Ryan and Edwin Fotheringham reinvigorate the reader format with their fresh approach to the form. Crafted with all the care and detail of a picture book, and bursting with lyrical, laugh-out-loud text and clever, eye-popping artwork, TONY BALONEY SCHOOL RULES is a fun read aloud and the perfect book to ignite budding readers. The irresistible characters spring off the page and will leap into your heart--especially Tony, who children are sure to embrace like a new best friend.

Genres: Picture Books, School, Childrens, Back To School, Fiction, Animals, Friendship

40 pages, Hardcover

First published September 1, 2012

About the author

Pam Muñoz Ryan is the author of the New York Times Best Seller, ECHO, a 2016 Newbery Honor Book, and winner of the Kirkus Prize. She has written over forty books for young people—picture books, early readers, and middle grade and young adult novels. She the author recipient of the NEA's Human and Civil Rights Award, the Virginia Hamilton Literary Award, the Willa Cather Award, the Pura Belpré medal, the PEN USA award, and many others. Her novels include Esperanza Rising, Riding Freedom, Becoming Naomi León, Paint the Wind, The Dreamer, and Echo. She was born and raised in Bakersfield, California, holds a bachelor's and master's degree from San Diego State University and lives in north San Diego county with her family.

Reviews

[Valerie Smith · Rating 5 out of 5]

A cute book about starting school that every young child should read
It is the first day of school for Tony Baloney. As he gathers up his backpack and his best friend, the stuffed animal Dandelion, Tony Baloney is a little nervous about the first day. His mother tells him he will be fine, but he has a lot to live up to, following his Bossy Big Sisters shadow. Tony Baloney really likes his new teacher, Mrs. Gamboney, who is really nice, and wants to be as perfect as his sister was, but Tony has a hard time following the rules.
In this cute novel, Tony Baloney discovers that school can be really fun and he can shine on his own. The conversations that Tony Baloney has with Dandelion reflect the nervousness that children can experience with the first day of school, the hardship of learning and following rules, and that having someone to talk to can calm the nerves. Filled with fun illustrations, Tony Baloney School Rules is a great read for children getting ready to start school.
Recommended for readers age 4-7. This paperback book is exclusively priced and available from Scholastic in select book fairs.
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[Spiral Breeze · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read this in Linda Belcher’s voice the entire time aloud.

[Laura · Rating 4 out of 5]

Tony Baloney is a macaroni penguin who is ready to start school. His perfect older sister was the line leader on the first day but Tony is a little nervous that he won't be up to this high standard. This is a great story for kids who are going to have a few bumps along the way, which, quite frankly, is most kids. Tony Baloney does his best to follow the rules and becomes a Friendship Ambassador thanks to his quick thinking and concern for a friend.

Recommended for kindergarteners and first graders.

[G Glory · Rating 5 out of 5]

I actually laughed out loud at one point while reading it to myself to make sure it was appropriate for my 5 year old son. He doesn't care too much for school, but I believe this book will encourage him =)

It is not the best for beginning readers in kindergarten independently, but maybe good for more advanced readers at a first grade level or as a read aloud for Kinder.

[Cierra Edwards · Rating 5 out of 5]

It is Tony's first day of school and there is so much to be nervous about and rules to learn. Even though he is trying his best to follow the rules, Tony keeps messing up and getting in trouble. After a talk with his teacher, Tony realizes that getting used to rules will take some practice. This book would be an absolutely incredible one to read to students who are experiencing their first day of school. It does a really good job of explaining why rules are set and should be followed. It also does a good job showing what happens if rules are broken. The book is also full of really cute penguins that young children will be excited about and the book has a lot of humor in it.

[Shelli · Rating 4 out of 5]

Tony Baloney is mostly excited, and a little nervous, about his first day of school. His bossy older sister reminds Tony over and over again that he has the same teacher she had when she was starting school. Can Tony show his teacher that he can be a good student like his sister? Will he be line leader on the first day just as his sister was? So much pressure for a nervous little penguin!

Young readers will love Toney Baloney adventures in school. Some of the vocabulary may be a bit challenging so parallel reading with a parent or older sibling would be best. There are lots of sight and easy to sound out words though to add to reading fluency and confidence.

[Barbara · Rating 3 out of 5]

Accidents and trouble seem to follow Tony Baloney, and his big sister warns him about the challenges of the first day of school. He has a lot to live up to, though, since she was Line Leader on her first day. Naturally, Tony makes lots of mistakes as he runs and makes the other penguins in his class laugh. But when he finds the one time when it's wise to disobey his teacher Mrs. Gamboney's rules, he proves that he's a class leader too. Readers will find reassurance in this title while enjoying the digital media illustrations.

[Amy Hesterman · Rating 5 out of 5]

Pam Munoz Ryan gets my kids! Tony Baloney's school experience will be comforting to my students and they will see themselves in his antics. The family dynamics with Tony's "know-it-all" sister will be appreciated by younger siblings who have to endure years of not being "the first" to do everything. And oh-- to be referred to by your students as "smiley...cheerful...and smells like peaches and coconut." Mrs. Gamboney is my hero!

[Catherine · Rating 3 out of 5]

A cute story that would be useful during the first days of school for young children. Tony has worries about school, and things go wrong but he manages to survive nicely. I have used it as a read aloud the first day or two of school to lead into a class discussion on rules. My First grade students enjoyed it.

[Christine · Rating 3 out of 5]

A fun and entertaining read about young Tony's first day at school and how following the rules can indeed be more difficult that imagined. Youngsters will delight in seeing all the misadventures that befall Tony when he isn't able to follow the school rules as closely as he should.

[Laura Salas · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a supercute first-day-of-school beginning reader. Tony is adorable, and so is his stuffed animal friend, Dandelion. Tony's just one of those characters you root for. I'm going to have to find the other Tony Baloney books to read.

[Sara · Rating 3 out of 5]

Tony Baloney School Rules is about a penguin and his very first day of school. It is told in a series of small almost chapter like sections. Pretty cute. Would be cute to read to little ones to teach them that rules must be followed but we can still have fun.

[Adrienne · Rating 4 out of 5]

So cute! There are so many things to like about this book--the pictures, the story line, the fun alliteration, the fun with numbers (twenty times--or maybe twice), the fun rhymes (Tony Baloney the macaroni penguin), etc. Awesome!

[Britney Gunter · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is so funny! We liked the new B emergencies especially banana bombs!! We thought it was funny when Tony ran to sit by his friend and he fell and spilled his lunch! We think every class should read this book!

[Starr Elementary · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a very fun story and would be great for the first day of school not just for Kindergarten but for all grades k-5. I though it was adorable and got it's message across.

[Palmer]

Tony Baloney learns to follow rules at school. Good for average kids who like bland books or to torture kids in prison school.

[Sharie · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a great first day at school book! It really has truth to it, too. Tony still has several blunders without really bad things happening to him. Good book to alleviate fears.

[Bree · Rating 4 out of 5]

LAUGH OUT LOUD FUNNY!! I love the conversations between his stuffed animal and him it was freaking adorable. I thought it was a nice and silly take on the common first day of school tale.

[trisha · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great bedtime book!!! This is hilarious and full of lessons and things to discuss. It is also super cute.

[Dolores · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars. Cute

[Teri · Rating 3 out of 5]

Tony Baloney starts school and needs some time adjusting, but meets and makes some friends along the way.

[Jaden Burdick · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was just okay for me, in my opinion it was kind of long for a young grade, but is directed at that age group. It is about this penguin that is starting school and finds out all these rules. He starts out a little rough, but at the end he follows the rules and gets a crown for being good. He realizes school is not that bad. This would be a good book for kindergarten if it was not sooo long,. It would be hard to keep them engaged I think.

[Lu · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked this book. It was quite cute. The penguin learns lessons and there is humor in the book too.

The illustrations are really cute -- and can be easily redrawn by kids.

I especially love his stuffed animal Dandelion (an ostrich with blue patches on its wing, knee and toe). So cute.

p10
"... we don't have to be perfect," says Momma Baloney. "We just have to do our best."

[Denise Jones · Rating 3 out of 5]

Had this book hanging around the house and I've been in reading limbo. So it was good to read this plus working on another book I'll be illustrating so it was good to read/check this out. A great story for any kid starting off with school, would recommend reading.

[Lisa · Rating 4 out of 5]

A cute book about starting school. It is the first day of school for Tony Baloney. He has a lot to live up to as his bossy big sister was a star student. In real life I was the bossy big sister that my little brother had to follow!

[Maki · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cute book explaining the rules of school. Great book for first day of school for beginning years of school.

[Brenda Kahn · Rating 3 out of 5]

Adorable macaroni penguin named Tony Baloney starts school. Fun and quick.

[Diana Pettis · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great story to get children excited about school.