Tomorrow is the First Day of School

    /24-7PressRelease/ - WADING RIVER, NY, May 23, 2007 - What will I wear? What if the children don't like me? What will it really be like? These questions and anxieties are typical of many children the day before school. Tomorrow is the First Day of School (Wading River Books/$15.95) is a beautifully illustrated journey of a young girl as she prepares for the big first day. Her mother assures her everything will be great, but still she is not so certain. Butterflies flutter inside her tummy and at bedtime her mind continues to race with countless questions - she is both nervous and excited as she tries to imagine what it will really be like. The next morning her parents have her favorite breakfast ready, along with lots of love and hugs. With all the confidence she can muster, she bravely journeys off to the first day of school.

Told in her voice, her story mirrors not only the feelings of anxiety and nervous exhilaration children encounter, but the same feelings adults experience before any big first day. Whether it is our first day of college, our first day on a new job, or our first time doing anything - regardless of age - the child-soul inside every one of us still stirs with the same feelings of uneasiness, anxious curiosity and fear of the unknown. By the end of the book all readers will be happy to find out that they are not alone and that absolutely everyone gets butterflies.

The author, Maureen MacDowell, is a teacher for the Three Village School District, NY. She has been teaching elementary education for nine years. Mrs. MacDowell (then Miss Barbera) wrote Tomorrow is the First Day of School after her first day as a kindergarten teacher. She graduated from Dowling College with a Master's Degree in Elementary Education.

The illustrator, Max Hergenrother, is a teacher for the Department of Fine Arts at St. John's University. Max graduated from the School of Visual Arts in New York. He also freelances as a professional illustrator and designer. You can see more of his work at his website: www.maxinkart.com.

Tomorrow is the First Day of School
Written by Maureen MacDowell
Illustrated by Max Hergenrother
Wading River Books - http://www.wrbooks.com
Distributor: Baker & Taylor, Inc.
Hardcover size: 9 X 11
Available August 1, 2007
$15.95 US
Ages 4-8
32 pages
ISBN: 978-0-9791463-0-5

Look for Tomorrow is the First Day of School in Baker & Taylor's "Books For Growing Minds" August publication.

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