Back to School with Bigfoot

by Samantha Berger, Dave Pressler (Illustrator), Martha Brockenbrough

Overview

Starting a new school year can be hard, even if (especially if) you're seven feet tall. But there's plenty to look forward to!

The first day of school is right around the corner! And everything is bigger for Bigfoot — especially back to school problems like getting a haircut, trying on new clothes, and finding new shoes that fit! Told from a giant (and very hairy) point of view, Back to School with Bigfoot deftly tackles the worries kids face as that first day of school draws closer, and ends on a colossal high note!

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780545859738
Publisher:	Scholastic, Inc.
Publication date:	06/27/2017
Pages:	40
Product dimensions:	8.70(w) x 11.00(h) x 0.50(d)
Age Range:	4 - 8 Years

About the Author

Martha Brockenbrough is the critically acclaimed author of the YA novels Into the Bloodred Woods, The Game of Love and Death, and Devine Intervention; the middle grade novel To Catch a Thief; and numerous nonfiction titles, picture books, and chapter books. She teaches at Vermont College of Fine Arts and lives in Seattle, Washington, with her husband, their two daughters, two dogs, and two cats. You can visit her online at marthabrockenbrough.com.
Samantha Berger is the award-winning author of Crankenstein, What If, Snoozefest, Martha Doesn't Say Sorry, and over 80 books for young readers. She also writes cartoons and does voice-overs. Samantha splits her time between New York City and sunny California. Visit her online at samanthaberger.com.
Dave Pressler has created and designed children's characters for a variety of media companies over the past 20 years. He cocreated and designed the Emmy-nominated Nickelodeon animated series Robot and Monster. Dave is also an accomplished painter and sculptor whose work is shown in galleries around the world. He lives in Los Angeles, California. Back to School with Bigfoot was his first picture book. Visit him online at davepresslerart.com.

Editorial Reviews

05/15/2017
Bigfoot has a giant case of back-to-school jitters in this comedy about facing everyday fears. Berger (Crankenstein) and Brockenbrough (The Dinosaur Tooth Fairy) cleverly transfer the familiar anxieties of school-bound kids to their hairy hero. Shopping for clothes is a particular challenge for this “extra-extra-large” creature (“You Rip, You Buy,” warns a dressing-room sign), and Bigfoot’s fur makes getting a haircut an ordeal, too. Pressler, in his first children’s book, places Bigfoot in numerous slapstick scenarios, which are all the funnier since all of his classmates are human. But worries seem less monstrous when he starts remembering all the fun things that come with school, including playtime and art projects with friends. As fear gives way to FOMO, Bigfoot proudly stomps off to school—a reassuring model for kids big and small. Ages 4–8. Author’s agent: (for Berger) Brenda Bowen, Sanford J. Greenburger Associates; (for Brockenbrough) Sarah Davies, Greenhouse Literary. (June)

Publishers Weekly

"Berger and Brockenbrough cleverly transfer the familiar anxieties of school-bound kids to their hairy hero... A reassuring model for kids big and small." — Publishers Weekly"Nicely juxtaposes the negative what-ifs with a great list of positives and just may lead nervous readers to do the same." — Kirkus ReviewsPraise for The Dinosaur Tooth Fairy:"Debut picture-book pair Brockenbrough and Sanchez are millions of years ahead of their time." — Kirkus Reviews"With clever wordplay and repetitive words to emphasize the Dinosaur Tooth Fairy's emotions, this could be a fun storytime read-aloud for young readers." — Booklist"Brockenbrough's text is energetic and amusing… there aren't many books about this important rite of passage, and this one packs in plenty of fun." — School Library Journal

From the Publisher

08/01/2017
K-Gr 2—No one has bigger back-to-school jitters than Bigfoot. In this humorous first-person narrative, Bigfoot explains how everything is bigger for him: shopping for extra-extra large clothing, a haircut that takes all day, and don't even get him started on shoe shopping (he is Bigfoot, after all). Berger and Brockenbrough aim to make returning to school no big deal at all, especially after Bigfoot realizes that if he doesn't go back to school, he'll miss out on having the best teacher ever, doing enormous art projects, going on field trips, and, most important, he'll miss seeing all of his friends. The text includes some helpful reminders about school, but Bigfoot, with his extra-large concerns, is the appeal of this silly story. Pressler's digitally rendered pen and ink illustrations are lively, amusing, and packed with entertaining details, and feature a diverse classroom. VERDICT Great for the classroom, storytime, or one-on-one sharing for anyone with anxiety about starting school. Pair with Adam Rex's School's First Day of School for some fun, unexpected first-day-of-school comic relief.—Brianne Colombo, Fairfield Free Public Library, NJ

School Library Journal

2017-05-15
Bigfoot's body and feet may be larger than most, but his worries, though they feel monumental to him, will be familiar to grade schoolers. Sure, back-to-school shopping for Bigfoot is a royal pain. Even the big-and-tall store doesn't have clothes that fit, and forget about buying shoes in a regular store—and a haircut takes the entire day when you are covered in the stuff. But his what-ifs will not be new to kids: what if the bus doesn't stop for him? What if he makes a mistake at lunch? His imaginative scenarios are enough for him to quit school before it even starts. But then he thinks of all the things about school he would miss—the best teacher in school, studying mythological creatures, his friends—and some positive possibilities: a field trip, art projects. It's enough to change his mind again, and the last page sees Bigfoot and his much-smaller friends entering the school. Pressler's seemingly digital illustrations will have readers in stitches as they see Bigfoot in the dressing room in his orange-and-pink polka-dot undies or watch as a kid almost drowns in all the hair on the floor at the barber shop. And for cryptozoology-savvy adults, there's the page about Bigfoot's school-picture-day worry: "What if I can't stand still for class pictures? AGAIN!" Nicely juxtaposes the negative what-ifs with a great list of positives and just may lead nervous readers to do the same. (Picture book. 4-7)

Kirkus Reviews