From award-winning, New York Times bestselling author Ibi Zoboi and artist Juanita Londoño, this lyrical celebration of the first day of school across every continent explores what going back to school looks like for children in countries around the world!

How do children around the world spend their first day of school?

Some eat warm akara for breakfast in Nigeria, while others unwrap lunches of kluski in Poland. In China, they practice intricate characters in special notebooks, and in Argentina, they learn each other's names in a sing-song memory game. No matter where in the world, every student has something new to look forward to on their first day!

From Ethiopia to Germany to India to Brazil, this lyrical text introduces young readers to the breakfast-to-bedtime routines, cultures, and landscapes that connect people across all continents.

Author: Ibi Zoboi
Binding Type: Hardcover
Publisher: Versify
Published: 06/03/2025
Pages: 48
Weight: 1lbs
Size: 10.10h x 9.10w x 0.40d
ISBN: 9780063078888


Review Citation(s):
Publishers Weekly 04/28/2025
School Library Journal 05/01/2025 pg. 118
Kirkus Reviews 05/01/2025
Booklist 06/01/2025 pg. 92
Horn Book Magazine 07/01/2025 pg. 89
Hornbook Guide to Children 01/01/2025 - Superior,Well Above Average

About the Author
Zoboi, Ibi: -

Ibi Zoboi is the New York Times bestselling author of American Street, a National Book Award finalist; Nigeria Jones, a Coretta Scott King Award winner; Pride; My Life as an Ice Cream Sandwich; Okoye to the People: A Black Panther Novel for Marvel; and the Walter Award and LA Times Book Prize-winning Punching the Air, cowritten with Exonerated Five member Yusef Salaam. She is also a two-time Coretta Scott King Honor Award winner for her picture book The People Remember and her middle grade biography of Octavia Butler, Star Child. She is the editor of the anthology Black Enough. Born in Haiti and raised in New York City, she now lives in New Jersey with her family. You can find her online at ibizoboi.net.

Londoño, Juanita: -

Juanita Londoño is a children's book illustrator from Colombia. As a child, she enjoyed bedtime stories and recreating images in her favorite children's books with a pencil. Now her art is sought after by American Greetings, Hallmark, Target, and more.