A beautifully and vibrantly illustrated book about Robin the Owl's first day at school. For some reason the part that stuck out most for me was Robin going potty.

Review to come July 7th to blog/goodreads/etc..

I received this book from Netgalley in exchange of an honest review.

This cover just drew me in! It is just so gorgeous and pretty and look at all the details! And then I read the blurb and knew I would like it even more! Because this book is about a little bird's first day of school and I can still remember vaguely those jitters, those nerves. How at first you don't want to, but then things turn out to be quite nice and fun.

And this was just soooo adorable and cute! Meet our little Robin, it is his first day at school and naturally he is a tad apprehensive about going! But as we can see school is actually very much fun! We see our Robin meet new friends and see them have a fantastic fun-filled day with plenty of activities and breaks. We see him play. We see him eat. I didn't have to see him go to potty. We see crafts, and so much more. I won't tell you all he does on his very first school day. But I guess with all this fun you can guess how his feelings are when he has to leave after such a fun day. I just laughed so hard when that end of the day came along and then smiled to see him so happy he could go another day. Though, haha, I wonder how much fun he will have when playing turns to learning and studying. While I do love studying/learning new things... I remember that I quite missed those earlier years of playing and just learning by having fun. But for now I guess things are great and that makes me happy. I am sure it is also a relief for the mom.

One thing that I found weird was that during lunch it was said that all beaks made sound... but our Robin was the only one with a beak? The rest had mouths/muzzles/whatever you want to call it.

I loved seeing the variety in the animals, we have a bunny/hare, there is a little lady bug, and several others!

The art, well it was just as good as the cover was. I really love the style and how warm and fun it is!

All in all, I am happy I had the chance to read this and I would highly recommend this one. This is a great one for kids who are about to go to school!

I think the best part of this book was the pictures.

This is about a little bird, Robin, who goes to school for the first time. He learns that they share stories, play with toys, use the potty, eat, but nothing really educational. I wish it would have included something more in their day that showed school is not all play and fun but also learning.

Robin is always asking what they will do next ma’am. So perhaps it was written to also help children learn to be respectful? Anyway, I am not a fan of the book as a whole.

I’d like to thank NetGalley for the eARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

A cute story about a little bird that is nervous to go to school for the first time. This book was written like a list rather than a story but it was short and sweet, perfect for young listeners. The illustrations were bright and beautiful. I do wish the illustrator hadn’t included the poop pellets in the toilet during the potty break, but it didn’t effect my enjoyment of the book. As a parent to a little one, I know he would really enjoy this book and would read it multiple times over just to look at the different illustrations. Thank you NetGalley, Clavis Publishing, and the author Esther Van den Berg for the eARC in return for an honest review.

First Day of School tackles the fear that some children experience during their transition into education. The story is beautifully illustrated and covers a lot of what children will see and take part in during their day. I liked the repetition of parts of the story to encourage children to join in.

As a teacher in England some things may confuse our readers (EG the use of Ma'am for the teacher which isn't common here) however this can be addressed by an educator when they read aloud.

I loved this sweet little book. My son starts kindergarten next year and this is the perfect book to explain to him all the fun things he will get to do just like little Robin. The illustrations are really sweet and its a great book to help little ones feel more comfortable about starting school.

Thank you NetGalley and Clavis Publishing Inc. for a copy of "First Day of School" in exchange for my honest review.

This book is meant for ages 4 and up to prepare children for the first day of school. It has adorable graphics, colourful, and engaging.

It's Robin's first day of school and Robin doesn't really want to go but is willing to try. Once there Robin is eager to find out "What do we do now?" and is full of excitement.

The story reinforces all the fun activities at school. It shows good manners, cleaning up, washing hands. At the end of the day Robin doesn't want to go home.

A great story to read with children who are either scared about heading to school on that first day or looking forward to it. It answers a lot of questions that young children might have about school.

First Day of School would be a fine addition to any library's back-to-school collection. The illustrations are engaging and the story is told in a gentle way. Understanding fears and ways to overcome them is an important part of growing up. For many children heading off to the first day of school can be terrifying and this cute story will help make the transition easier for child and parent.

Thank you NetGalley and Clavis Publishing for the digital advance reading copy of this book.

This book would be good tool for helping you explain to small children what pre-school or kindergarten is going to be like. The book goes through your typical day in a school setting using animals as the children. The illustrations were lovely and there was a lot of detail in each picture, you could almost make a "where's..." game out of it.

A cute story about a baby bird going to school for the first time. I think this is a very cute and inspiring book for young children who's yet to go to school. It can help them ease their nerves and look forward to it.

As the parent of a child in preK, I keep one eye out for books about transitioning into school. As a licensed therapist, I fear that books of this type will be even more needed as children transition from time at home back into daycare and school settings.

First Day of School by Ester Van den Berg is a delightful picture book depicting a young bird who is experiencing jitters related to beginning school. I appreciated the author's recognition of Robin's anxiety but focus on fun activities Robin would be able to try at school. I also liked that Robin is seen making mistakes and trying to assert age-appropriate independence. As the school setting shown is clearly a preschool, this book is more appropriate for the youngest student readers and will likely not be as poignant for older elementary children. The illustrations are detailed with many different things for the reader to discover on each page.

Meh. Just an average starting-school book. It was much like a list story; nothing really eventful happened.
I also found Robin to be very annoying, continuing to ask the teacher what they were doing next.
Also, “apple” was misspelled on the snack page.

First day of school can be a frightening time, however, with our friend Robin and all the other forest animals, we learn what fun school can be. The colorful illustrations make school the place to be to make friends and learn!

A special thank you to Clavis Publishing and Netgalley for the ARC and the opportunity to post an honest review

This. book was adorable. The illustrations were beautiful and the attention to detail in every single picture was spectacular. As a teacher, I loved this story! So many young students are often afraid of coming to school and leaving their families for the day. Just like Robin, many of them end up having a wonderful time and do not want to leave and go home at the end of the day. This story made school seem so fun and exciting and will be very relatable with so many young children and families! This teacher loved this one!

Variety of animals demonstrate many different activities of school, including using the restroom. An uncertain robin, who repeatedly asks his teacher “what comes next, Ma’am?”, adapts to the new routines and gets over his fears about school. It’s a very busy day, and every child will want to have as good a time as robin. Useful for other uneasy kids just starting out.

A heart warming story about Robin's first day at school. This would be a great book to read at home to prepare children for their first day in nursery/playgroup or for starting school. It would also be a lovely book to have in a classroom. The book shows a typical routine of a school day (building with blocks, having lunch, playing outside, cutting and gluing etc.) in a fun and playful way. The illustrations are amazing and there is so much to talk about with young children. I will definitely read this to my son before he starts nursery school next year.
Thank you NetGalley for this advanced copy.

The first day of school is always stressful for small children. This book goes the the entire first day so that kids can hear about their day. It helps them to see how much they are going to do at school and what fun they are going to have. The book does a good job of making school look fun. The pictures go along with the story very well. They are very colorful and crisp. I did like the book.

This book was really cute! It didn’t have as much of the anxieties children often feel on the first day of school, whic I was expecting a little more of, but it was a nice book about what to expect at school, I would have liked to have seen more of the coping tools and feelings, but it was Still cute. Definitely a good book to read around back to school time. The illustrations were beautiful.

This is a very good and useful story about going to school for the first time with all different kinds of students. The words are good, but the artistry of the illustrations is awesome and so detailed! The colors are just right and the choice of students and teacher are inspired.
I requested and received a free temporary ebook from Clavis Publishing via NetGalley. Thank you!

Well written, sweet story of a young Robin showing courage on their first day of school. This is a heartwarming children's story with beautiful and very detailed illustrations.