Young children, especially any who have had to move and switch schools and leave their friends behind, will enjoy this story about Ira. Ira tries so very hard to make friends, but ultimately Ira realizes that his best chance at a friend is the student who was in his shoes last year as the new kid.

This book has adorable illustrations that capture the tone of the story.

This was a cute insightful children's story, as it managed to explore such complex themes as making friends, problem solving, etc, in a highly engaging and compassionate manner.

I really enjoyed this book and gave it 4 stars - it is an ideal book for an young children who have had to start a new school or settle in to a new area after they have moved house. The images are bright, colourful, I loved the tone and pace of the story and Ira is a fab little character!

Ira has moved to a new town and he is worried about starting a new school. He has the summer to make friends otherwise he will be eating alone, sitting alone, playing alone etc. He does not have much success as everything he tries gets messed up. When he accidentally meets Malcolm, he realizes that he knows exactly what he is going through. Malcolm was the new kid last year, and they become friends. I like the character of Ira. He could be anyone with normal childhood fears. This is a great book to read at the beginning of a school year to a class of students because inevitably, there will be someone new. The illustrations are fun and add to the story. I definitely recommend this one to all school libraries.

Another heart warmer. I have been the new kid many times over. This time, it's Ira’s turn. He is super worried that he will be all alone on the first day of school, so he sets out to make friends before school begins. But his ideas don’t work. Will Ira ever make friends. Fun illustrations, and a kid I can believe, this is a fun book that makes my heart happy.

Ira Crumb is new in town and that means he needs some new friends, but when his plans for showing what a great friend he'd make fail, he starts to feel like he'll be all alone. That is, until he meets Malcolm, someone who knows exactly where Ira's coming from.

This is the perfect book to read with your little ones, whether they're just starting school for the first time, or they've experienced a big change. As a preschool teacher, I think this is a great "first week of school" kind of story.

This book is really cute. I think a lot of kids would like to read this funny book about how to make friends when you are at a new school or in a new town.