CCBC Booklists

CCBC Review:

Royalty is a metaphor used to playfully describe what an African American boy’s experiences will be on his first day of kindergarten. When the boy awakens, the sun “sits and shines behind your head like a crown.” The child is called “King of Kindergarten” by his parents, who don’t emphasize any hierarchy, just affirmation throughout the upbeat narrative. The funny, future-tense voice of his father in the second-person narrative is also full of practical advice: “You will show your bravery at recess when you go up to one of your classmates and ask, ‘Marie, do you wanna play with me?’” Bright, hand-drawn and digital artwork adds to the humor, in addition to showing the boy’s affirming, Afro-centric home and a diverse cast of children and adults in the community and at school. ©2020 Cooperative Children’s Book Center

Illustrated by Vanessa Brantley-Newton

CCBC Age Recommendation: Ages 3-7
Age Range: Babies/Toddlers (birth – 3) PreK-Early Elementary (Ages 4-7)
Format: Picture book
Subjects: African Americans Fathers Humor School
Diversity subject: Black/African
On CCBC Booklists: Black Experiences: Affirmation and Resilience, Activism and Resistance in 45 Books for PreK-Grade 12  School Stories: Selected PreK-12 Literature about the School Experience 

Publishers: Nancy Paulsen Books, Penguin Random House
Publish Year: 2019
Pages: 32
ISBN: 9781524740740
CCBC Location: Picture Book, Barnes

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