A kid contemplates dropping out of first grade because he was laughed at for calling his teacher "Mom." Everybody is friendly. Usual Matthew Cordell art that is a bit hard to understand from far away. ( )

The boy in this story has been a lot of things (hungry, bored, and wet), but the worst of all those things is when he knows he will have to become a first grade dropout. He has done something so embarrassing that he cannot go back to school. He tries to come up with ways to avoid going to school, like casting a spell to undo what he did or building a time machine to go back before it happened, so that he doesn’t have to face his classmates knowing that he called his teacher “mommy”. He’ll miss being around his friends, but he knows he can’t go back. However, at soccer practices, he and his friend realize that everyone makes mistakes and it is okay to laugh when embarrassing things happen.

Although sometimes the vocabulary and thought process might be a little advanced for first graders, most first graders will be able to identify with something embarrassing happening to them and feeling like they need to drop out of school so that they don’t have to deal with people laughing at them. Kids will enjoy laughing at the story and the funny pictures and side comments, and adults can talk to kids about how it is possible to laugh about things that are embarrassing for them. ( )

I gave this book a five out of five star rating. It tells the story of a young boy who wants to drop out of first grade after he is embarrassed in front of the whole class after calling the teacher "mommy." Throughout the story he begins to realize that embarrassment is a normal feeling that everyone goes through,and it's good to laugh at yourself sometimes to realize we're all flawed. This book would be great to use when teaching young children about how to address their emotions and how to communicate with others respectfully. ( )

This book is about a boy who is experiencing some troubles at school and wants to drop out because he accidentally called his teacher mommy and the whole class laughed at him so he is mortified and does not want to face his peers again. Through out the story he learns that others have all been down that path of feeling embarrassed. The story is very relatable not just to young readers but to everyone who has felt embarrassed before. The book is a great reminder to laugh at yourself and that all will be okay. ( )

When the young narrator of this engaging picture-book exploration of childhood embarrassment says something extremely awkward in class - he accidentally calls his teacher 'Mommy' in front of all of his classmates! - he decides that he can never return to school. Imagining all of the things he can do as a first-grade dropout, the boy dwells almost obsessively on the circumstances surrounding his embarrassment, particularly the fact that his best friend joined the laughter at his expense. It is only when he sees his friend again at soccer, and is himself witness to his friend's embarrassing mistake, that he begins to get a more balanced perspective...

A sensitive appraisal of the sometimes extreme feelings of embarrassment that young people experience, First Grade Dropout follows a believable trajectory, as the would-be dropout works his way through his emotional reaction, and eventually comes, through further social interaction, to the conclusion that all is not lost. I appreciated Audrey Vernick's tale, and I think a lot of first graders will as well. The artwork by Matthew Cordell, done in pen and ink and watercolor, is entertaining and amusing, ably capturing the protagonist's anguished musings in humorous cartoon-like style. Recommended to all first graders who feel that they'll never recover from the grade-school faux pas they've committed. ( )