First Day Jitters

By Julie Danneberg

Everyone knows that sinking feeling in the pit of the stomach just before diving into a new situation. Sarah Jane Hartwell is scared and doesn't want to start over at a new school. She doesn't know anybody, and nobody knows her. It will be awful. She just knows it.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Charlesbridge
• Release date: Jul 23, 2010
• ISBN: 9781607341413

Book preview

Reviews for First Day Jitters

[Rocky Wright · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

We love this book - even teaches get nervous! How fun!

[이한솔 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

It is good and fun It is short and easy

[Morgan Witte · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Loved this story for my classroom!! The kids thought it was great.

[Francisco Jaramillo · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Amazing book to read to students on their first day back to school. Well-recommended!

[christinarozell · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Funny book about a teacher who does not want to go to her first day of school. At the beginning it sounds like it is from the kids side but it ends up being from the teacher.

[carlathelibrarian · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I love this story. In First Day Jitters, Sarah Jane Hartwell doesn’t want to get out of bed to go to school on the first day. Mr. Hartwell finally convinces her to get up, have breakfast and head off to school. He drives her and she is met by the principal who takes her to her classroom.

The author, Julie Danneberg, writes this book in a way that leaves the reader surprised at the end of the story when it is revealed that Sarah is actually the teacher. The illustrations by Judy Love, are also done in a way that Sarah’s face is never revealed until the end of the book when she is introduced to the class. I loved the illustrations, they are colourful, full of action (the pets trying to get her out of bed are wonderful) and kids will relate to them well.

Children of all ages would enjoy the surprise at the end of the story. I am a retired teacher and I know that my colleagues would enjoy the humor of this book, and relate to it more than we know. This would be a great read aloud book to share with students on the first day of school. It would give teachers the opportunity to share their worries and concerns about the first day of school. This gives students the chance to see their teachers in a different light, we don't live in or sleep at the school, and we have similar feelings at the beginning the new school year.

This is a great book to be in all school libraries as well as classroom libraries or teacher resource rooms. A great opportunity to talk about emotions and ways to deal with them. I received a copy of this book from netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

[melissasiobhan · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

First Day Jitters is a relatable story about someone who is very much dreading the first day of school. The images are so colorful and descriptive, yet we never see the main character's face until the very last page! This book has a fantastic ending that I never saw coming. I read this book for the first time this year, and I love it. It was very relatable, because I think most people have been in the position of not wanting to go to school for one reason or another. In my own classroom, I would love to use this as a mentor text for learning how to create an ending that is not predictable. In order to achieve this I would have my students write an outline for a story with an ending that they think is predictable. Then, I would have my students rewrite the ending for the story with an ending that gave the story a unique twist. Another thing I could do is have the students write the story until the ending.... and then have a partner predict what would happen in the ending. Then the writer would have to write an ending that was nothing close to what the peer had predicted would happen. I really enjoyed this book and I think that students from many grade levels would enjoy reading this.

[shea24 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I love reading this book to my class at the beginning of the school year. They are guessing the whole time that it is a student that is nervous about the first day. They love it when they find out the teacher can be scared about the beginning of a new school year!

[jspare2 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I found this story to be very interesting and realistic. The author uses very descriptive adjectives to describe how Sarah feels as she walks into her new school. Sarah is very nervous and unhappy about starting over at a new school with unfamiliar faces. Sarah gives her parents a hard time getting ready for school and finally after waiting around and being unhappy makes her way to school. Sarah meets the principal at the school and is directed to the the classroom. Mrs. Burton, is Sarah's new teacher, who helps smooth her transition into the school. At the end, Judy Love pulls a plot twist and Sarah is the new "teacher" in the school. This story does a great job of showing that everyone has the jittery, nervous feeling when we are in a new school or job.

[taranto-3 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Best book for a teacher to read on the first day of school. It always loosens up the room and helps students see their teacher as nervous just like them. Even for students who know how it ends, they still benefit from its message, especially on the first day of school.

[khendr4 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

In my opinion, the book "First Day Jitters" is a great book for young readers and would be a great first day of school read. The first thing I really liked about this book was that you had to read all the way to the end to see the surprise. The book misleads you to believe that the main character, Sarah, is a student who is nervous to start at her new school, but when you get to the last page, it is revealed that Sarah is actually a teacher coming to a new school for the first day. Another thing I liked about this book was the use of vocabulary. While this book would definitely be a K-2 level, I liked the inclusion of descriptive vocabulary that made the text come alive. The author uses words like "tunneled," "snapped,"stumbled," and "fumbled" to add to the feeling of nervousness Sarah must be feeling. I also liked that the illustrations were detailed and included white space on some of the pages so the reader could focus on the text. The illustrations seem to be done with watercolor and strong black outlines to make each character and object clear. The big idea of the story was to not be nervous about the first day of school and to feel comfortable in a new environment.

[aredoble-1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I love this book! I heard it for the first time during the first week of school at my student teaching placement. Like the rest of the class, I thought that it was a student that had the first day jitters! As you read toward the ending of the books, it's actually the teacher that has first day jitters! This book shows that it's not just students that have first day jitters, but teachers also get nervous!

[skm88-1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

This is the story of Sarah Hartwell's first day of school. Cute story with a surprise ending.

[mmarcel2011 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Sarah is extremely nervous abotu going to school and thinks of all the terrible things that could go wrong at her new school. When she finally goes, she realizes that her fears of school were silly and that school is fun.

[szanes_1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Charming pictures and text, clever plot twist and fun ending. Kids and teachers alike can relate to this book about new beginnings and the feelings that come with them. Great book to read the first day of school. Children who have heard the book are sworn to secrecy regarding the ending!

[kpil13 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

This book is a great one to read on the first day of school with a great surprise ending. My students loved it

[kba13 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

The author brings to life the feelings of the nervous first day, showing at the end that even teachers can have these feelings too! This would be a great way to start off the first day of school to show children that is a natural and normal feeling to be nervous or scared about something.

[btivis · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

First Day Jitters is a wonderful story to read to children of all ages on the first day of school. It begins with Mary Jane Hartwell not wanting to get out of bed and go to her new school. Mr. Hartwell has to get her out of bed and drag her to school, the entire time trying to convince her she will love it. Once at school, the principal takes over and talks her in to going to class. A suprise ending always delights students year after year. Julie Danneberg does a wonderful job expressing the nervous feelings people often feel on their first day of school.I was in love with this book the first time I read it. Usually you can see where a book is headed and what will happen in the end. I was completely suprised when I first read this. I read this to the kids at my school every year on the first day. Even though many of them have heard it several times they are excited to hear it again.Since this book is usually read on the first day of school, the activities that are done should go accordingly to the class you have. If they are coming from different districts to a new one then you could use this to begin introducing each other. The possibiIities are endless on introducing each other activities. I really enjoy having the students make missing posters of themselves.

[dcarlill_1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Very cute story with a surprise ending. Recommended for grades K-3 but easily used in middle and high school as a fun book. I would use this book in professional development as well with new teachers entering the school.

[ermilligan · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I thought this was a good book because everyone can relate to the first day jitters at the beginning of a new school year. I thought it was a funny twist though when we learned that the main character, Sarah, was actually a teacher because the whole time I thought she was a student.

[hewlettb · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

First Day Jitters is the story of Sarah Hartwell and her first day at a new school. The day begins with Sarah's father waking her up and Sarah's continued insistence that she will not go. She protests until her father makes her wake up and get ready for school. Sarah's father drops her off at school where she is met by the school principal and led to her classroom. Once she arrives at the classroom the principal introduces Sarah to the class, and it turns out Sarah is the teacher! I like this book because it fooled me into thinking that Sarah was a student all along. After I got to the last page, where it's revealed that Sarah is the teacher, I went back to look at the illustrations and noticed that Sarah's face or body is never shown. She is only shown in bed covering her head with a pillow, acting like a young child. Sarah's father also, on second look, appears to be older than the father of a school-age child. I was hoping the book would be about overcoming your nerves on the first day of school, but it was enjoyable nonetheless.

[conuly · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

My nieces haven't read this one yet.The book runs through the excuses Sarah makes to avoid going to her new school (note that she's nervous about switching schools), and she's steadily cajoled into the front of the class where our Surprise! Announcement! reveals (and I admit, I was surprised - this is really well-done) that she's the teacher.Well, no doubt teachers do get nervous on the first day of school, same as anybody else does :) Kids are likely to be surprised and laugh at the ending too, maybe even not believe it.I do find it a little off-putting that Sarah's husband and boss essentially talk to her (and, in the beginning, treat her) like she's a child, but that's necessary to make the reveal an actual surprise.

[t1bclasslibrary · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Sarah is frightened of going to a new school and has to be dragged to the classroom. She faces the same fears that every new student faces, but it turns out that she’s the new teacher!

[alcrivello · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

It's hard starting on the first day of school. See how Sarah deals with her first day jitters.