Back to School with Bigfoot, written by Samantha Berger, & Martha Brockenbrough, reviewed by Klaudia Janek

Student Reviewer: Noelle C.
Summary: Bigfoot is nervous on his way back to school! What if his haircut doesn’t work out? Where can he sit at lunch? What if he misses the bus? Bigfoot is having an existential crisis about the new school year. He is so worried about everything that could go wrong (especially back to school shoe shopping). Bigfoot is worried about going back to school and is not really sure he wants to. Luckily, with his new teacher, Miss Sierra Nevada, it might not be that bad of a school year. There might be field trips, he will get to see his friends, work on cool projects and celebrate the year. By the end of the story, Bigfoot decides that it will probably be a pretty good school year.

Straight Talk for Librarians: This is the perfect first day of school book for young children. The illustrations are hilarious and would break a lot of tension in a nervous child. It has a lot of potential for parents with a restless student going back to school soon. It is a feel good bedtime story with some humor too! It begins with Bigfoot feeling anxious and then snapping and thinking about quitting school, then to realizing how much he would miss his friends and different fun school activities. The tone moves from anxious to excited through the book with funny tone throughout. The art is completely humorous with the cartoon style and colorful illustrations. They side characters feature a lot of diversity which is nice in picture books. There are many puns to big foot’s size throughout from “my worries are BIGGER than that” and “The BIGGEST mistake in the history of big mistake making?”. The wording is easy for children to understand, and is emphasized through a variety of fonts. It will make any kid who is feeling like an outsider, feel less awkward and more ready to start a new school year. This would be a great book to put on a back to school book display. Adult readers will wonder if Miss Sierra Nevada is a little nod to them. Perhaps a chance to kick back and unwind with a refreshing beverage? To toast the new school year? Hmmmmm....