Milk Goes to School by Terry Border (A Book Review)

Milk Goes to School by Terry Border

Publisher: Philomel Books
Format: Hardcover
Pages: 32
Age Range: 3 – 7 years
Grade Level: Preschool – Grade 2

Synopsis
From the creator of Peanut Butter & Cupcake and Happy Birthday, Cupcake! comes THE back-to-school must-have picture book of the year!

First days of school are tough, and making new friends is even tougher. Milk’s dad gave her a sparkly new backpack and told her that she was the creme de la creme, but most of the other kids don’t seem to agree. In fact, some of her new classmates think Milk is just little a bit spoiled. . . .

In this latest hilarious picture book from Terry Border, our food friends go to school and learn that it’s not just Milk that’s the creme de la creme. Some other food can be just as sweet.

Reflection
The first day of school is nearly upon us – say it ain’t so!  This year my daughter will be starting Pre-K4 and my son will be in Pre-K3.  With the last few days of summer winding down my mind has been spinning thinking about the first day of school.  I want the kids to have a wonderful back to school experience as it sets the foundation for the entire school year.

What better way to discuss those first day jitters, fears of the unknown and separation anxiety than by reading some relevant and fun Back to School books.  I think books can be used as a springboard for discussions on how we are all feeling.  I think Milk Goes to School is a good example of one such book.

We haven’t read the two previous books Peanut Butter & Cupcake and Happy Birthday, Cupcake!, but from the titles I can imagine they are also filled with lots of clever and funny food puns too.

Just like most kids, Milk was nervous about the first day of school.  It doesn’t help that she encounters someone difficult like Waffle who think she’s a total spoiled brat.  Waffle constantly ridicules Milk for being “spoiled” which in turn hurts Milk’s feelings and makes her second guess her father telling her that she’s “the creme de la creme”.

Although this book has some funny jokes that made my kids laugh, I think it also does a good job of tackling some tough subjects in a lighthearted way.  There are valuable lessons on feelings, treating others with respect, coping with differences and bullying.  My kids seemed to get a kick out of seeing actual photographs of faceless food with wire limbs like waffles, eggs, cupcakes and chicken nuggets appear in the book.  The food objects seemed to each have their own personalities.  I appreciate the amount of time (and patience) it must have taken to set up the props and the scenes on every page.

Overall, I think this is a fun back to school book for little readers.  Although I think some of the jokes may go over the youngest readers’ heads.

Print out this fun Milk Goes to School activity kit for your kids!

To learn more about author Terry Border visit his website here.

Your turn: Have you read this book or the other two books in this series?  Feel free to share in the comments.