We Share Everything and Field Day Friday

Picture Books About School – Robert Munch & Judith Casely

Sep 24, 2009

Robert Munsch and Judith Casely show that school is a place to learn about many things but especially about fun!

Whether school has just started, is well under way, or just winding down, books about school have an important place in children's literature. We Share Everything and Field Day Friday are great reads in that category. They address the issues that come to the fore when school is involved. Robert Munsch tackles sharing in his 1999 book We Share Everything, and Judith Casely explores friendship and sportsmanship in her book from 2000 Field Day Friday.

“On the first day of school,” sedately begins Robert Munsch’s book We Share Everything! with an illustration of a school looming ahead. “Not knowing what to do,” it continues inside the building with a wild depiction of children and noise then into the kindergarten classroom where Jeremiah and Amanda will soon learn their first lesson at school – “We share everything.”

Together with Robert Munsch, illustrator Michael Martchenko leads readers through the first day of kindergarten where a lovely teacher corrects Jeremiah and Amanda’s yelling, kicking and paint throwing with a sublime smile and birds and flowers floating around her. “In kindergarten,” she says, “we share everything.”

Everything – the word can be taken quite literally by kindergarteners, so Amanda and Jeremiah decide to share their shoes, their shirts and their pants with one another. The teacher is not too pleased with what she sees, and amidst the ruckus of a classroom of kindergarteners exchanging clothes, she faints in terror.

Mickey and Longjohn play together, catch bugs together and walk to school together. They are best friends and enjoy running races against each other during recess. The boys often tie even though Mickey is “short and sturdy” and Longjohn is “tall and thin.”

One day there is a field day at school and Mickey and Longjohn are on the same team. They encourage each other and make each other laugh when they do not succeed in certain exploits like the egg and spoon race and the waiter and waitress game.

The challenge, however, comes when Longjohn wins the running race ribbon and Mickey comes in last because his shoe kept falling off. The latter is so upset he hides in his room and will not play with Longjohn when he comes over. Longjihn feels terrible, but, with Mickey’s sister’s help, finds a way to cheer his friend.

Reviews of the Books

Robert Munsch does it again with this humourous story. He entertains and provides a message without one hint of preachiness. Michael Martchenko, who teamed up with Munsch for Paper Bag Princess, Andrew's Loose Tooth and many others, provides fun, detailed illustrations that wonderfully compliment the text. This book is a sure fire hit with the preK and kindergarten crowd.

Though field days tend to occur near the end of the school year, Field Day Friday is a good book for the fall, for it reminds kids that there are fun activities and friends at school. Judith Casely’s pictures compliment her text well, and several off them spread over two full pages. They are colourful and full of a variety of children and activities that show that fun times can be had at school.

Book Details

The copyright of the article We Share Everything and Field Day Friday in Picture Books is owned by Melissa Morelli Lacroix. Permission to republish We Share Everything and Field Day Friday in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.