Timothy Goes to School

Timothy describes his first day of school, it does not go as well as he thought it would. He meets a boy named Claude who seems to be perfect in everyway and it drives Timothy crazy. Claude is always telling Timothy that he is doing things wrong. Timothy spends most his day at school hoping Claude makes a mistake. Timothy is so jealous of Claude that he wants to quit school, until he meets Violet who has the same problem with another girl at school. Rosemary Wells shows the difficulties of making friends at school and how hard the first day of school could be for some children. This book is a comparsion to the book," Kindergators: Hands off, Harry!" because the author uses the same style. She uses animals, in this case a Raccoon, to show more address every day issues that children face in their every day lives. show less

In my opinion, this is a great book to use for independent or group reading in the classroom. The use of dialogue makes it easy for children to take turns reading with a partner. I like this book for several reasons. First, the language was very clear and easy to understand. I believe this is because the great use of dialogue. I find that dialogue makes stories easy to follow, engaging, and relatable. The reader becomes more involved in the story and feels as if they are there with the characters. Second, the writing was very organized and paced well. Text is always located under the illustrations in this story and there are two to three lines per page. Third, the characters and their situations are believable, and the main character, show more Timothy, is well developed. Timothy is experiencing his first week of school and the anxieties that come with it. This is very relatable to young children in kindergarten or first grade who are arriving at a brand new school for the first time. Students who moved to a new school can also relate to Timothy and the problems he faces with making new friends and adjusting to a new environment. Fourth, although the illustrations are simple and not flamboyant, the pictures still fit the written text. On the page that states, “Timothy did not feel better in his new football shirt,” the illustration shows Timothy looking sadly down on his jersey, exemplifying his unhappiness towards not fitting in. Fifth, the plot involves a great conflict, in which Timothy tries to find the perfect outfit to wear in attempts to impress the popular student and become friends with him. However, this student continuously rejects him each day, which greatly upsets Timothy. I enjoy this conflict because many students can relate to rejection, feeling left out, and peer pressure in school. The solution to this conflict is that Timothy finds a friend struggling with this same problem, and they eventually become best friends and no longer find the need to fit in with others. This is evident on the last page, which states, “On the way home Timothy and Violet laughed so much about Claude and Grace that they both got the hiccups.” I really like this ending because it pushes readers to understand that popularity is not everything. You should never try to change yourself for others who do not respect you. The big idea of the story is true friends will accept you for who you are and not how you look. I believe this is a great message to teach children, especially in today’s society where peer pressure takes control of several students of all ages. show less

I was not a fan of this book what so ever. The story was about a boy named Timothy who was constantly picked on by a classmate, Claude. There was no resolution between Timothy and Claude- the story ended having Timothy still hating him. In fact, the book ended with Timothy befriending a girl who didn't like another girl in the class, and the two bonded over their hatred towards their two rivals. I did not like that there was no closure to the bullying, because it left me unsatisfied. I also didn't like that the reason Timothy and the girl became friends was over a mutual dislike for two classmates. I think that this story sends a negative message to young children. Overall, there was no valuable lesson from this book and the plot was show more unexciting. show less

I really liked this book. The basic idea is to not get to down about being the new kid at school and not give the cool kids too much thought. I can relate to this book a lot because i once was a new kid and thought I would never make any friends. The way it is structures flows and keeps the reader engaged. A lot of people can relate to Timothy. Also, the illustrations were really engaging. It is full-color artwork with black line-drawings. Really draws you eyes to the pictures.

Summary: "Timothy Goes to School" is about how Timothy's first couple of days at school are ruined by a boy named Claude. Claude is good at everything and he teases Timothy about the clothes he wear. Timothy tries to changes his clothes based what Claude had said but it never works and Claude continues to taunt Timothy. However, one day Timothy meets Violet who is dealing with the same thing and they become good friends. Timothy no longer worries about Claude.

Review: In my opinion, this book does not give the best example when dealing with mean people. Also, I believe story shows that it is okay for people to be jealous and wish bad on others. For example, the story tells how everyday Timothy wishes Claude will mess up or fall because show more Claude talked about Timothy's clothes. Instead of teaching readers to ignore mean comments, it just promotes how to let another person ruin your day. The central message of this story was to find a person you connect with and stop worrying about others. In the end of the story, Timothy became friends with Violet and stopped letting Claude ruin his day. show less

I chose this book because the illustrations grabbed my attention because they were detailed and vivid drawings. This book uses repetition to show Timothy's daily experiences at school. Each day, a classmate named Claud would point out a flaw in his clothing. Therefore, every day he wished the worst for Claud. In the end, he became friends with a girl named Violet because they both had a common interest--they were both jealous of a classmate. I did not like the moral of the story.

Timothy is a young raccoon who is on his way to his first day of school. WHen his gets there his teacher introduces him to Clause who she assures will be his best friend. Claude ends up being the kid in class who seems to do everything perfectly and has all the friends when Timothy does not. Everyday he hopes that things will be different and that Claude will do something wrong, but it never happens. During a recital program where Claude is plying the saxophone, Timothy sits next to Violet who feels the same way about Grace that Timothy feels about Claude. They quickly become fast friends.
This is a great book to use with students on their very first day of school. It addresses many of the fears that young children have about meeting show more friends and feeling included. It reassures them that everyone fits in somewhere and there will always be someone that you have something in common with. show less