Wanda's First Day - Hardcover

This is Mark Sperring's second picture book for The Chicken House. He's a bookseller in Bristol. Liz and Kate Pope are identical twins who have just left art college. This is their spectacular debut picture book.

PreSchool-Grade 1–Wanda, a young witch, is nervous about her first day of school. When she enters her classroom, she notices that all of the other girls have wands and are wearing colorful dresses; Wanda has a broomstick and is wearing black. She soon realizes that she is the only witch in a school of fairies. She asks her teacher about it, and Miss Dewdrop assures her that all youngsters feel a bit uncomfortable on their first day. Wanda enjoys herself even though her projects turn out differently from those of the other children. After seeing some students from another school fly by the window (all witches with one lone fairy), Wanda again meekly questions her teacher and Miss Dewdrop reassures her that as long as she had fun, she is definitely in the right place. Readers will be pleasantly surprised when they discover that Wanda looks forward to returning the next day. The candy-colored illustrations are full of fairyland details: shiny stars, glittering fairy dust, and delicate flowers. With her frizzy hair and black dress, Wanda stands out among her neatly coifed, pastel-clad classmates. Although this book will appeal to fans of fairies and princesses, parents wishing to lessen first-day-of-school jitters may want to look elsewhere.–Wendy Woodfill, Hennepin County Library, Minnetonka, MN
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