Thank you, school

K-Gr 2--As the day progresses, a diverse group of elementary-age children take turns giving thanks for the many people who help their school "tick like a perfect clock." They are grateful for the "brave crossing guards" and the custodians who fix everything and "polish all the floors…/ for us!" They thank the office staff, who "do seven jobs at once" and "know which teachers we belong to." Classroom teachers and librarians are not overlooked, nor are art teachers, gym teachers, cooks, or nurses, "who wipe our tears with their magic tissues." Borden captures these childlike sentiments in economical, free verse poems. Keiser takes a dazzling stylistic leap from her previous charming picture books and enchants with outline-free illustrations full of texture and punctuated with pops of glowing turquoise, red, orange, and fuchsia, sometimes layered on top of one another with spongey dabs. Her winsome people have dainty hands and feet, pin-dot eyes, pert noses, little smiles, and easy postures that show them to be utterly content and engaged with the school day. VERDICT This paean to school will warm the heart of anyone who has ever worked in a school setting and is the perfect gift for Teacher Appreciation Day.--Jan Solow

A clutch of children salute the adults who make the school day hum. "Dylan and Madeleine--7:15 a.m. / THANK YOU / to our teachers… / who head to school / with dreams for us / just as the sun / wakes up the day." So begins a series of thank-yous in verse addressed to custodians, crossing guards, librarians, and other grown-ups who ensure that children thrive during a typical day. Next up after Dylan and Madeleine is "Anders--7:54 a.m. / THANK YOU / to our bus drivers," and on it goes until it's 3:25 p.m., the end of the school day, when "All of us!" extend thanks to "each person / who makes our school / tick like a perfect clock!" Borden's premise is so solid that it's a pity readers may not initially grasp whether the names at the top of each thank-you correspond with the adults being honored or the children giving thanks. (A simple "from" or "by" before the kids' names would have done the trick.) Regardless, it's hard to imagine a reader who won't get caught up in this giddy-making gratitude-fest. Keiser's digitally tweaked multimedia art depicts rosy-cheeked kids and adults who vary in terms of race and ethnicity. Her images appear to have been assembled with cut-paper or silk-screened shapes in color combos fresh enough to get the day off to a rollicking start. May well give readers the thank-you bug.(Picture book. 4-8) Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.