Common Sense Media Review
By Regan McMahon
,
based on child development research. How do we rate?
Sneezy panda conquers fitting-in fears in reassuring tale.
Parents Need to Know
Why Age 4+?
Any Positive Content?
Where to Read
What's the Story?
Chu, the young panda who starred in Chu's Day, is worried about what will happen on his first day of school and whether his classmates will be nice and whether they'll like him. "They will be nice," his mother reassures him. "Of course they will like you." When he gets there, things are going well until the teacher asks the students to write their names on the board and "say one thing you love to do." Jengo the giraffe likes to get things down from high places, Pablo the monkey loves to climb up things, and so on. Chu gives his name, but the chalk dust makes him sneeze so hard he blows the roof off the building and turns the class furniture upside down, which makes the kids smile. "That's what I do," he says. Then he comes home and tells his parents, "They like me. They were nice. I'm not worried anymore."
Is It Any Good?
Readers who enjoyed Chu and his explosive sneeze in Chu's Day will be happy for another Chu adventure. But there's no need to have read the first book to be tickled by CHU'S FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL. The humor and pacing are great, and Adam Rex's illustrations are wonderfully expressive, capturing Chu's worries, sadness, and joy and the pride of other animals, from hippo to snake, as they happily show off what they do.
This is a fine book to help kids going into kindergarten, changing schools, or headed for any transition about which they're feeling social anxiety.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about starting a new school. What's fun about it? What's a little scary about it?
How do the pictures help tell the story? Did you notice something in one of the pictures that might make Chu sneeze?
Everyone in Chu's class has something he or she loves to do. What do you love to do?
Book Details
- Author :
- Illustrator : Adam Rex
- Genre : Picture Book
- Topics : Friendship , Animals ( Wild Animals )
- Book type : Fiction
- Publisher : Harper
- Publication date : June 24, 2014
- Publisher's recommended age(s) : 4 - 8
- Number of pages : 32
- Available on : Audiobook (unabridged), Hardback
- Last updated : October 1, 2025
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