On the First Day of Kindergarten: A Kindergarten Readiness Book For Kids

by Tish Rabe, Laura Hughes (Illustrator)

On the first day of kindergarten, there’s so much to do! From making new friends to jumping rope in gym to riding the bus to school, there are lots of exciting firsts to look forward to. Even though saying good-bye to Mom and Dad is hard, when the school bus pulls up, it’s time to begin kindergarten fun.

This engaging new adaptation of “The Twelve Days of Christmas” convinces parents and children alike that there is no place cooler than a kindergarten classroom.

Tish Rabe is a seasoned children’s book author with over 160 titles, including ones for Sesame Street and Curious George, under her belt. Like Natasha Wing with The Night Before Christmas, Rabe puts a novel spin on a first-day-of-school classic with On the First Day of Kindergarten.

Genres: Picture Books, School, Back To School, Childrens, Realistic Fiction, Fiction, Kids

32 pages, Hardcover

First published June 21, 2016

About the author

Tish Rabe is the bestselling author of over 170 books for Sesame Street, Disney, Dr. Seuss, and many more. She is Founder and Content Creator of Tish Rabe Books, LLC, an independent publishing company that partners with nonprofits and businesses to create books that make a positive difference in the lives of children, parents, teachers, and caregivers worldwide.

"Sweet Dreams Ahead Time for Bed" is a gentle, rhyming storybook written in partnership with Pajama Program, a national nonprofit that promotes healthy sleep routines and gives pajamas and books to children facing adversity.

"Days Can Be Sunny for Bunnies and Money", helps children learn how to manage money. It was produced with Clarity 2 Prosperity, a business development company for financial advisors. To learn more, visit tishrabe.com.

Reviews

[Matt · Rating 4 out of 5]

Told in the same light as the Twelve Days of Christmas, it depicts twelve events a kindergartener would experience regularly. Neo knew of many activities, but is still hoping his teacher introduces a field trip option!

[The Book Consultant · Rating 3 out of 5]

This one was just okay for us. It’s not a bad book, just very repetitive (which is often a good thing), and read/told in the style of The 12 Days of Christmas.

For some reason, my 5 year old just didn’t take to it (and actually would ask me NOT to read this one during our reading times).

It is a nice concept though, and goes through all the fun things that kids do in kindergarten. Told in a different style I think my son would have enjoyed it more. But, it’s a style that I’m sure lots of kids WOULD enjoy!

[Jaemi Borja · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was awesome! Reminded me of the 12 days of Christmas but, it was related to kindergarten!

[Margaret Chind · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have a five-year-old kindergarten daughter this year and we adore educational books written by Tish Rabe so I was intrigued to see how we enjoyed "On the First Day of Kindergarten" illustrated by Laura Hughes. It was neat and a lot of fun to read with all my Littles. Even my toddler and third grade child enjoyed the repetition of it all. I think this would make a great addition to a school classroom especially for that first week or so.

Even as a homeschool family personally this is a fun read and speaks to the excitement and anticipation of things to come. Each page repeats and builds on the event from before. Reminds me of the hole in the bottom of the sea song my daddy sang with me as a child.

Review book, honest opinion. 8-15-2016

[Stephanie · Rating 2 out of 5]

Very repetitive and yet doesn't rhyme or scan. Plus, for any kid NOT riding the bus to school, it's not very fun hearing twelve times that the great part about kindergarten is riding the bus.

[Christine Turner · Rating 4 out of 5]

On the first day of kindergarten, there's so much to do! From making new friends to jumping rope in gym to riding the bus to school, there are lots of exciting firsts to look forward to. Even though saying good-bye to Mom and Dad is hard, when the school bus pulls up, it's time to begin kindergarten fun. This engaging new adaptation of "The Twelve Days of Christmas" convinces parents and children alike that there is no place cooler than a kindergarten classroom.

Subject: Kindergarten -- Juvenile fiction.
Schools -- Juvenile fiction.
Counting -- Juvenile fiction.

Note: The only thing that I don't like about this book is the size of the font. I realize that this choice was probably made so the illustrations are the focus. It would not have been the choice I would have made for the target audience.

[Rose Rosetree · Rating 5 out of 5]

One way to make your book memorable to picture book readers is to model the text after the earworm known as “The Twelve Days of Christmas.”

Tish Rabe has done this with "On the First Day of Summer Vacation." Now she's at it again, with "On the First Day of Kindergarten."

In neither book are there FIVE GOLD RINGS. Here's a sample of what readers will find:

On the fifth day of kindergarten
I thought it was so cool
Singing a song!
running in a race,
counting up to ten,
making lots of friends,
and riding the bus to my school!

Isn't the joy contagious?

Surely one of the great delights of picture books can be when an adult reader -- like you or me -- gets dunked in that childhood innocence.

Wonderful! FIVE STAR wonderful!

[Skyler Tieri · Rating 4 out of 5]

"On the First Day of Kindergarten" by Tish Rabe is a delightful and engaging picture book that perfectly captures the excitement and nervousness of starting school, Using a playful twist on the classic "twelve Days of Christmas" song, Rabe takes young readers through a countdown of fun and familiar activities they can expect on their first day . The rhythmic, repetitive text makes it enjoyable read aloud, while the colorful and lively illustrations by Laura Hughes bring each scene to life. The book does an excellent job of easing first-day jitters by highlighting the positive experiences and new friendships that await. It's a charming and reassuring read for children about to embark on their kindergarten journey, making it a must have for parents with children starting kindergarten.

[Kaitlyn Ramoie · Rating 3 out of 5]

I give this book a 3, it would be especially fun for very young students going off to school for the first time. However, the title doesn't seem to really line up with what is in the book. Only the first page talks about the first day of kindergarten, every page after that continues to count the days in kindergarten. With this idea though, I do like that each page builds off the previous in demonstrating that with each day in school something new is added into the schedule and routine. This is a book that I could see myself reading to my incoming kindergarteners in the future to help get them excited about school and ease their nerves.

[Mikaela · Rating 4 out of 5]

Genre: Contemporary Realistic
Grade Level: K-2nd

This book would be great to read-aloud to a kindergartner or an older child to read by themselves! Going through different positives of going to school, especially with the repetition, would be a great lesson to bolster school positivity. If you can make school fun, everyone will want to go! I love the different choices of positive attributes of school, with both fun things and lessons included. I enjoyed reading this one!

[Cara · Rating 5 out of 5]

A cute book given to us by my son's Kindergarten teacher. Today was his second day of school and he's in love, so this book was perfect to read to him before bed.
It's about twelve things a Kindergartener would experience: riding the bus, lunch, field trip, recess and other school activities.

[Emma Hunter · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is all about the fun things you get to do in kindergarten! It is written with repetition (similar to the 12 days of Christmas) and had a nice flow to it.

Lexile: 610L
Guided Reading: F
Trait: Sentence Fluency

[Alysia · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cute little book for my baby girl that starts kindergarten this fall.

[Kalynda · Rating 4 out of 5]

What a great read for the first day of kindergarten! Composed like "The House That Jack Built" students will start to join the story, recognizing the pattern and predictable text. :)

[Clwseattle · Rating 4 out of 5]

On the First Day of Kindergarten is a bright and cheerful '12 days of..' book about all the things a little one can do and find in kindergarten.

[Jannah · Rating 3 out of 5]

Parody of the 12 days of Christmas about riding the bus, counting, painting, sorting, and other activities.

[Kelly Chester · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a great book

[Lilly Amick · Rating 5 out of 5]

I recommend for people going into first grade.

[Josephine · Rating 4 out of 5]

Adorable book to the cadence of The 12 Days of Christmas about going to kindergarten!

[Elizabeth]

#ReadToNibling

[Stephanie Rossman · Rating 4 out of 5]

My daughter loves this book. You can sing it to the tune of “The Twelve Days of Christmas.” It simply lists some of the activities children do in Kindergarten.

[Erin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Kids loved to sing along 😊

[Liz Todd · Rating 3 out of 5]

Set to 12 Days of Christmas song. It's a lot.... but fun.

[Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

A little girl tells all the cool parts of the first 10 days of kindergarten. A cute intro to the school year.

[Kim · Rating 2 out of 5]

It doesn't match the tune. Some lines have too many syllables. Some lines have too few.

Also, why are we singing a Christmas song about kindergarten?

[Maya Grzywinski · Rating 4 out of 5]

I got this book to hopefully show my future kindergarten class! I think its a great story to introduce all the exiting parts of kindergarten and what's to come for this year!

[Candace Mills · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great book to give out first day of kindergarten and helps children relate to there first day

[BLT Fraser]

Grandmama bought this book for Thomas as he begins Kindergarten.

[Well-Read Mama · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is a retelling of The 12 Days of Christmas but with activities in kindergarten. Each day a new activity is mentioned, from making friends to riding the bus, to running in a race and much more. These activities are usually done in one day not throughout 12. I am not a fan of the original, so this book wasn't that impressive but kind of too repetitive, in my opinion. But the kids are sure to love it!

https://wellreadmama.com/kindergarten...

[Taylor · Rating 4 out of 5]

Title: On the First Day of Kindergarten
Author: Tish Rabe
Illustrator: Laura Huges
Date Published: 2016
Age Appropriateness: Pre-K, Kinder
Summary: In the rhythm of '12 Days of Christmas', this poetic fiction book gets both the incoming students and parents excited about the upcoming kindergarten year.
Review: I liked that his book put a teacherific spin on a popular rhythm that most are familiar with ( '12 Days of Christmas'). Overall, it was an easy read, and would to be fun to incorporate on the first day in Kinder!