Books are a great way to explain and make sense of changes or transitions in life. For children, one of their biggest changes/transitions is the start of school, aka kindergarten. There are many great books about starting kindergarten available providing many different spins on the kindergarten experience. Colleen Nelson and Alice Carter have taken a humourous look at kindergarten in their new picture book Teaching Mrs. Muddle. 

Mrs. Muddle is seemingly quite confused on the first day of kindergarten. From mixing up the children’s name tags to taking all the children on a mixed up tour of the school, she does seem to be quite unqualified to teach. Throughout the day the foibles and the follies force the children to take the lead and they are having so much fun, they forget all about home and missing their parents.

Being a teacher herself, Colleen Nelson knows first hand the experiences of students on the first day of school. She wonderfully injects lightness and fun into the story to ease children’s minds about such a big change. Through Teaching Mrs. Muddle, she also offers some comfort to parents to know that their child will be having fun when they are sent out into the big wide world of school.

The illustrations are so reminiscent of a kindergarten classroom, bright and colourful. Alice Carter has also made sure to create a classroom with children of all different colours and backgrounds, ensuring that all children will be able to connect with this silly first day of school story.