Review by Booklist Review
In Clapham's sweet picture book, the spirited young narrator gives instructions for showing a "New Person" around the school, her own wide-eyed New Person firmly in tow. There is useful advice for being welcoming and enthusiastic, as well as for showing everything important (the bathroom, the playground). Still, the narrator's voice feels authentically and amusingly childlike as she points out things like the strawberry-scented hand soap and various lost gloves. Along the way, her New Person gets a bit lost and has to meet the narrator at their designated "Emergency Meet-Up Place," where the narrator reveals that last year she was a lost New Person herself. In the end, she expresses the hope that she and the latest New Person can become real friends and that the new student will eventually be giving tours too. Shireen's jaunty and often funny illustrations, which have a slight South Park vibe, perfectly capture the narrator's energy and the new student's hesitancy, as well as the school setting. An endearing, humorous study in empathy and welcoming newcomers.
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Kirkus Book Review
A child leads a new student around school. "When you show a New Person around, it's called giving them The Tour," says a bespectacled child with black hair in two braids who's doing the "really important job" of helping a recent arrival feel welcome. The protagonist starts on an appropriately high-energy note ("You have to sound really excited so they feel like it's going to be an INCREDIBLE tour"). Our narrator knows what truly matters and begins with the most important place: the bathroom. Of course, the two stop by all the best spots, like the playground and the library. Our gentle, sensitive guide takes care to introduce the other child to friends while also intervening when the newcomer feels overwhelmed. Readers, too, will feel like they're a part of things as the narrator shares funny asides, like how the bathroom is a great place to sing ("the echo is…AMAZING-ZING-ZING!"), and reminisces about the time a lost dog appeared on the playground. The appealing, colorful illustrations feature children with rounded, oversize heads, simple features, and expressive eyes; many of the places and objects will be familiar to school-age readers. This wonderfully multifaceted story will be meaningful both to kids starting at a new school and to teachers looking for a way to help welcome a new student. The two main characters are brown-skinned; their community is diverse. An empathetic, child-friendly approach to conquering new-school jitters.(Picture book. 4-7) Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
