First Day, Hooray!

A back-to-school picture book about the importance of acknowledging your feelings and using them as tools for navigating new experiences. Inspired by the way teachers talk about emotional literacy with young children, this is the ideal book for any kid facing a big milestone, from the author of the bestselling The Goodnight Train.

There’s a lot to check off on the back-to-school list. Lunchbox? Check. Notebook? Paper? Glue stick? Check. Check. Check. But school supplies aren’t the only thing we bring with us. We also bring along our FEELINGS!!

Follow along as a class of young children learns to identify and process the wide array of feelings they meet on the first day of school. Say “hello” to HAPPY, soothe ANGER, jump with EXCITED, and shout HOORAY when a fun day comes to an end.

Inspired by the way educators talk about emotions and build emotional literacy with young children, this rhyming picture book encourages readers to observe and name their feelings and use them to their advantage. First Day, Hooray! provides the tools needed for social emotional learning in and outside the classroom and is an ideal read for rising kindergarteners, to share leading up to and during the first days of school and anytime a child is facing a big change. Includes a back matter note from an educator to guide teachers and caregivers in encouraging emotional literacy with children.