Annie Silvestro is the author of Mice Skating (Sterling) and
Bunny's Book Club (Doubleday). She also works as a consultant in
her family's finance business and serves on the board for Seas It,
a cancer charity that promotes recovery through recreation. She is
currently a Volunteer Coordinator for the New Jersey chapter of the
Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators. Annie resides
in Rumson, NJ, with her husband and two sons. Learn more about her
at anniesilvestro.com.
Dream (Mengqian) Chen received her BFA in animation at
Communication University of China and completed her MFA in visual
art at the Minneapolis College of Arts and Design. She has
experimented with photography, stop-motion animation, print making,
illustration, paper making, and book making. See more of Dream's
work at dreamchen.org.
“Rosie has been looking forward to the first day of school for a
month, practicing writing her letters and raising her hand. But the
night before the big day, she begins to have second thoughts. ‘I
don't feel well,’ she says the next morning. ‘You just have
butterflies in your belly,’ her mother replies with a hug. And sure
enough, when a girl on the school bus asks her name, a butterfly
escapes from Rosie's mouth along with the answer. Rosie's
trepidation about new experiences tugs on readers' hearts, but as
the butterflies that only she can see are released every time she
participates in class, her expressions grow more confident and
joyful. Finally, Rosie uses her new confidence to help another
classmate who looks like she has a belly full of butterflies as
well. Colorful illustrations depict children of varying skin tones
with surprisingly expressive round black eyes; Rosie and her family
present subtly Asian. Young readers who are worried about school
will find a reassuring way to put their feelings into words, and
the warm ending gives a wink to caregivers who may also find
themselves feeling nervous about the first day of school. Silvestro
and Chen take a common figure of speech and transform it,
literally, into a lovely expression of a universal experience.”
—Kirkus
“Silvestro (The Christmas Tree Who Loved Trains) puts a fanciful
spin on a familiar metaphor in this tale about a girl who’s
impatient to start school. Rosie diligently practices classroom
skills, including hand raising, but her confidence vanishes on her
first day, and she insists she doesn’t feel well. She’s puzzled
when her mother tells her she has butterflies in her stomach, but
while chatting to a friendly girl on the school bus, Rosie finally
understands when butterflies (seemingly visible only to her)
flutter from her mouth. Throughout the morning, ‘butterflies
rumbled in Rosie’s belly’ and occasionally slip out, but by recess
she feels fine and reaches out to a forlorn classmate standing
alone—whose own butterflies escape. Animator Chen uses bold crayon
hues to invigorate her renderings of Rosie’s changeable emotions
and to showcase a striking kaleidoscope of butterflies. A cheering
first-day story.” —Publishers Weekly
“What happens to all those butterflies in your stomach? Rosie is
excited and ready for her first day of school. She picked out her
backpack over a month ago, decorated it herself, and even practiced
raising her hand at home. However, the night before the first day,
she cannot sleep. The next morning her belly hurts and she cannot
even eat her breakfast. Her mother reassures her, ‘You just have
butterflies in your belly’ and hugs her tight. Once on the bus, she
quickly makes a new friend, and a butterfly flies out while she’s
talking. Her new friend doesn’t seem to notice, and as they
continue to talk, more butterflies flutter out. Throughout the day,
the butterflies, unnoticed by everyone else, fly out of her mouth.
Rosie’s belly begins to feel much better. At recess, she even helps
a fellow student get a butterfly out of her belly by saying hello.
Rosie’s mom has a butterfly of her own fly out once she realizes
that Rosie had a great first day. The mixed-media illustrations
match the text well, and the bright colors fit the story’s theme
well. VERDICT A first purchase for back-to-school shelves that will
reassure both students and caregivers.” —School Library Journal
(Starred review)
“Rosie has been looking forward to the first day of school for a
month, practicing writing her letters and raising her hand. But the
night before the big day, she begins to have second thoughts. ‘I
don't feel well,’ she says the next morning. ‘You just have
butterflies in your belly,’ her mother replies with a hug. And sure
enough, when a girl on the school bus asks her name, a butterfly
escapes from Rosie's mouth along with the answer. Rosie's
trepidation about new experiences tugs on readers' hearts, but as
the butterflies that only she can see are released every time she
participates in class, her expressions grow more confident and
joyful. Finally, Rosie uses her new confidence to help another
classmate who looks like she has a belly full of butterflies as
well. Colorful illustrations depict children of varying skin tones
with surprisingly expressive round black eyes; Rosie and her family
present subtly Asian. Young readers who are worried about school
will find a reassuring way to put their feelings into words, and
the warm ending gives a wink to caregivers who may also find
themselves feeling nervous about the first day of school. Silvestro
and Chen take a common figure of speech and transform it,
literally, into a lovely expression of a universal experience.”
—Kirkus
“Silvestro (The Christmas Tree Who Loved Trains) puts a fanciful
spin on a familiar metaphor in this tale about a girl who’s
impatient to start school. Rosie diligently practices classroom
skills, including hand raising, but her confidence vanishes on her
first day, and she insists she doesn’t feel well. She’s puzzled
when her mother tells her she has butterflies in her stomach, but
while chatting to a friendly girl on the school bus, Rosie finally
understands when butterflies (seemingly visible only to her)
flutter from her mouth. Throughout the morning, ‘butterflies
rumbled in Rosie’s belly’ and occasionally slip out, but by recess
she feels fine and reaches out to a forlorn classmate standing
alone—whose own butterflies escape. Animator Chen uses bold crayon
hues to invigorate her renderings of Rosie’s changeable emotions
and to showcase a striking kaleidoscope of butterflies. A cheering
first-day story.” —Publishers Weekly
“What happens to all those butterflies in your stomach? Rosie is
excited and ready for her first day of school. She picked out her
backpack over a month ago, decorated it herself, and even practiced
raising her hand at home. However, the night before the first day,
she cannot sleep. The next morning her belly hurts and she cannot
even eat her breakfast. Her mother reassures her, ‘You just have
butterflies in your belly’ and hugs her tight. Once on the bus, she
quickly makes a new friend, and a butterfly flies out while she’s
talking. Her new friend doesn’t seem to notice, and as they
continue to talk, more butterflies flutter out. Throughout the day,
the butterflies, unnoticed by everyone else, fly out of her mouth.
Rosie’s belly begins to feel much better. At recess, she even helps
a fellow student get a butterfly out of her belly by saying hello.
Rosie’s mom has a butterfly of her own fly out once she realizes
that Rosie had a great first day. The mixed-media illustrations
match the text well, and the bright colors fit the story’s theme
well. VERDICT A first purchase for back-to-school shelves that will
reassure both students and caregivers.” —School Library Journal
(Starred review)
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