From the parental role: Evans wrote this story to highlight the fact that many children his son's age face similar obstacles when it comes to the first day of school. Evans realizes that it's important for fathers and parents to recognize these possible conditions and take action to encourage and instill confidence in their children, all while building character.
From an educator's perspective, Evans chose to write this story with language that is not explicitly taught. His word choices were intentional as they bring sound and meaning to the action of an object or behavior. These types of words help bring meaning to the sound they make. For instance, "the author adds extra emphasis on the balloon until it exploded boom." Boom, emphasized the word exploded which helped the child understand context. With new research on the Science of Reading, focusing on onomatopoeia words are the highest leverage for children learning how to read.
Tru's First Day is an awesome back-to-school gift for those gearing up for their big day. It is perfect whether they are worried about not knowing the rules, how to make friends, or how to fit in. Additionally, this book is perfect for elementary students grades 3-5.
