Ally-Saurus and the First Day of School by Richard Torrey

Ally-saurus and the First Day of School by Richard Torrey
Copyright 2015 (published in May)
Sterling Publishing - Children's picture book, ages 3-7
32 pp.

Ally is a little girl who likes dinosaurs and likes to pretend she is a dinosaur. On her first day of school, she isn't able to take her stuffed dinosaurs but she can take her imagination with her. At first, things are a little off-kilter. While Ally-saurus (the name she calls herself) eats her snack with a roar, the other children are quiet and subdued.

Then Ally has to cut a nameplate for her cubby (in the shape of a dinosaur, of course) and the boy at her table imagines he's an astronaut while he cuts his nameplate in the shape of a spaceship.

The entire book continues in this vein, with a crayon outline showing each child's imagination at work. At times, Ally is dismayed by the reaction of others. But eventually she begins to settle in, finds friends, and realizes that other imaginations don't have to match up with her own. Everyone can still have a great time playing pretend. Later in the book, Ally and her class go to the library, where they're each allowed to check out a single book.

And, the next morning, having checked out a book about rabbits, Ally hops out of bed imagining that she's a bunny.

Highly recommended - I absolutely love this creative story about imagination and being true to yourself. The crayon outline . . . I have a feeling I've seen this somewhere in the past, but I'm not certain. It's a lovely way to show how a child is imagining herself. I know my children would have absolutely loved this story at a younger age and so would I. This one's a keeper.

Note: I received my copy of Ally-Saurus and The First Day of School from Sterling Kids in exchange for an honest review. My copy came with a poster that says, "Read a book and let your imagination RUN WILD! Be a princess, a pirate, or even a dinosaur!" The illustration is the one you see in the left page of the library scene, above. Perfect for classroom or library!

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