It’s Ruby the fox’s first day at a new school. She’s a little nervous, but luckily, she has her tools to a tape measure to count her breaths if she feels overwhelmed, pliers to remind her to be flexible, and safety goggles to see things in a new way.
When Ruby finds out her class is having an egg drop competition, she wants to share her ideas, but she feels shy surrounded by all her talkative classmates. Can she use her tools to find the confidence to speak up, and maybe even make some new friends?
A cute fox, handy tools, and first-day-of-school nerves come
together in an encouraging read packed full of adorable characters.
Ruby is off to her first day at a brand new school, and
she’s nervous. Finding friends isn’t easy, especially since she tends to get
overly nervous about things. With her tools on her school bag (a tape measurer,
pliers, and safety goggles), she walks into the new classroom and immediately
feels overwhelmed. So many kids! Even with her tools, she’s not sure she’ll be
able to handle things.
I’m going to start with the illustrations because they add a
special touch to this read. The characters are well concepted and come across
with personality, friendliness, and are inviting. The mix of animals and humans
adds an interesting and creative twist and slides in with natural flow. Each
scene carries lovely details and will come across familiar to many readers.
It’s enjoyable to simply flip through each page and enjoy the story that way.
The text fits well to the middle of the intended age group
with more text than some picture books but remaining at the intended level. It
works very nicely for a read-aloud or story time and carries a complete tale
with a rounded ending. The concept of the egg drop experiment heads more toward
the older end of the intended reading group and might need some clarification
for younger listeners. It’s an easy-to-follow story with sympathetic characters
to enjoy.
The tale is message driven and does steer the plot, making
this a book especially useful when exploring themes such as forming new
friendships or dealing with anxiety. Each of Ruby’s tools carries an emotional
purpose, and this is clearly explained. One of the other characters, also uses
an object to help deal with tenser situations. There are a couple other message
added as well, but these hit on a smaller scale.
It’s a cute read with lovely illustration, which brings across several messages in an enjoyable and adorable way.
