Giant-Sized Butterflies on My First Day

by Justin Roberts, Paola Escobar (Contributor)

Find out how butterflies in your tummy are a good thing in this fresh take on being nervous for the first day of school.

When a little girl wakes up on the first day of school, the butterflies in her stomach feel positively giant-sized! She really wants her mom to stay with her, on this first day.
    As she and her mom make their way to school, Mom explains how the butterflies are a good thing. Everyone gets them (including parents) and they are a sign of something exciting happening—that we're about to learn and grow from a new experience and they can help us through it.
    So with the butterflies as her guide, the girl soars into her first day.
    Beloved children's songwriter Justin Roberts brings one of his most popular songs to the page, alongside beautifully tender illustrations by Paola Escobar, in a story guaranteed to help readers of all ages reframe their first-day nerves as first-day excitement.

Genres: Picture Books, School, Childrens, Back To School, Storytime, Emotion

Unknown Binding

Published May 1, 2023

About the author

Grammy-nominated Justin Roberts is an all-star of the family music scene. Hailed by the New York Times as “the Judy Blume of kiddie rock,” he logs thousands of miles on the road each year, dishing out unexpectedly intelligent and fun rocking music for kids and their parents. Justin lives in Illinois. Visit Justin at www.justinrobertsmusic.com.

Reviews

[Elaine Fultz, Teacher Librarian, MLS · Rating 3 out of 5]

Excellent option for back to school. Chrysanthemum, Wemberley Worried (Henkes) and First Day Jitters have their place, but I hope educators rotate their picture book stock and share some of these new and diverse first day of school options.

See also: Not Yet, Yeti (Freitas and Frost)
The Brilliant Ms. Bangle (Devins and Steele)
Mae's First Day of School (Berube)
My First Day (Quang and Lien -- this one, wowza!)
School's First Day of School (Rex and Robinson, a little older but still in the last decade, at least)

[TheRetiredSchoolLibrarian |Mrs. Ferraris · Rating 3 out of 5]

Brief summary: A young girl has a nervous stomach going back to school and is reassured by her mother that everything will be okay. The mother shares a time when she had butterflies in her stomach and how she let them go.

Teachers and parents could share this book with students about the first day of school to let them know that sometimes we are nervous doing or going places for the first time.

Rating: 3/5 📗📗📗

[Christy · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a heart warming book to help with those first day of school jitters. The giant-sized butterflies kids experience may take over just like the little girl has in this book. It offers a reassuring tone that those butterflies are normal and happen to everyone, including grown-ups. Finding a way to understand and channel those feelings of nervousness can help guide them through many first times. I liked how her classmates all had butterflies too showing that you are not alone in how you feel. The story is sweet and simple with beautiful illustrations and colors. A wonderful encouraging book to help calm flutters in the tummy.

[Jared White · Rating 4 out of 5]

A lovely book about "first days" and starting new things; how those times can make us nervous, and have butterflies, but sometimes that feeling of butterflies is just us opening our wings wide as we experience something new. A lovely sentiment.

I think this could work well one-on-one with your little one who is feeling nervous and think it could also work well for a lower-elementary storytime.

[Nadina · Rating 3 out of 5]

The illustrations in this were pretty, the story isn't bad, and I like the message. The problem is there were a lot of portions of rhyming, but it just did not feel like the book picked up a good rhythm to read along with, which when there are rhyming lines it feels like it should.
Not a bad book, but not one that would immediately come to mind to recommend.

[Katie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Great for kids who experience occasional bouts of anxiety. I wouldn't recommend this for parents of children who struggle often with anxiety, or who have more intense anxiety. Still, a very sweet book especially if you have a child who has a big moment coming up that they're a little nervous about.

[Beth · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Don't hold them in,
just let them fly.
'Cause they were born to be your guide.
Like monarchs helping flowers bloom,
our butterflies tell us we have room--"

Love the message of working with our big feelings rather than fighting them.

[Renee Bowman · Rating 3 out of 5]

Starts strong and the middle picks up steam, but then it seems to divert into a flowery-butterfly dreamland.

[Ann · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great read for those students feeling nervous about the first day of school; can easily connect to other new experiences, and how to deal with those feelings.

[Stephanie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nicely illustrated book that does a good job explaining the physical feeling of anxiety before the first day of school.

[Patricia N. McLaughlin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thoughtful parents reframe their daughter’s first-day-of-school jitters as “giant-sized butterflies” to help her face her fears. “Don’t hold them in, just let them fly ‘cause they were born to be your guide,” Mom says. “Those butterflies just help us grow.” Engaging illustrations beautifully reimagine first-day nerves as excitement.

[Tiff · Rating 5 out of 5]

Lovely digital gouache illustrations and beautiful story line. I loved the message and how it made me feel. Butterflies in stomach yet so hopeful and creative.