In a unique narrative, readers meet a diverse group of six children ranging in age from Kindergarten through fifth grade. With nerves and excitement each child gears up for a new school year by hustling in the morning, meeting new teachers and new classmates during the day, and heading home with homework and relief by day's end. Simple, bright illustrations focus on each child and his/her worries, hopes, and successes on the first day of school....

A boy tries to convince his teacher that the reason he is late for school is that, over and over, he had to undo the damage being caused by the wind, from tearing laundry off the line to blowing away street signs.

"Did you know that Paul Laurence Dunbar originated such famous lines as "I know why the caged bird sings" and "We wear the mask that grins and lies"? From his childhood in poverty and his early promise as a poet through his struggles to find acceptance as a writer and his tumultuous romance with his wife, to his immense fame and his untimely death, Dunbar's story is one of triumph and tragedy. But his legacy remains in his much-beloved poetry--told...