ALA Booklist (Mon Nov 01 00:00:00 CST 1999)

A little math and a lot of reassurance are tucked into a new idea for celebrating the hundredth day of school. Jessica's first-grade teacher asks each student to bring in a collection of 100 things to mark the the day. Jessica, who already worries about everything, from missing the bus to remembering her lunch money, adds this to her pile of anxieties. She stews about it during dinner. When morning finds Jessica still at a loss, her family springs into action: Dad brings ribbons, Jessica's sister barrettes; Mom finds screws, and Jessica's brother rocks, and so on, until Jessica has a bag of things to take to school. She comes up 10 short, but a note in her lunch from Mom with 10 kisses appended gives her just the right number. Energetic pen-and-ink squiggles and bright watercolors fill the pages with round-eyed figures and striped, dotted, and floral patterns as the groups of objects are described and counted. (Reviewed November 1, 1999)

Horn Book (Tue Aug 01 00:00:00 CDT 2000)

To mark the one hundredth day of first grade, everyone is supposed to bring in a collection of one hundred things, but Jessica the worrywart can't decide what to bring. With lots of family help and some quick thinking, she ends up with an unusual collection: "100 bits of love" from her family. The sentimental ending is a disappointment, but the scribbly pen-and-ink and watercolor illustrations add energy to this early addition book.

Kirkus Reviews

<p>1882</p> 1882.

Publishers Weekly (Fri Oct 06 00:00:00 CDT 2023)

The first-grade teacher wants each student to collect 100 small things in honor of the 100th Day of school, which starts one girl worrying. "This is a knowing and funny book that succeeds without patronizing its fretful heroine or sentimentalizing the supportive response of her family," <EMPHASIS TYPE=""ITALIC"">PW wrote. Ages 5-8. <EMPHASIS TYPE=""ITALIC"">(Jan.)

School Library Journal

K-Gr 2-While the other first graders are busy assembling their collections of 100 things to celebrate the 100th day of school, Jessica is busy worrying. She doesn't have a hundred of anything. She comes up with a lot of ideas, but then rejects them all. "100 ice cubes? Too melty. 100 marshmallows? Too sticky. 100 toothpicks? Too pointy." On the morning of the big day, she begins to cry, and her parents and siblings race around the house, coming up with nine mini-collections that, put together, equal 90 nifty things. Jessica accepts their tokens, but worries about finding 10 more items before her classmates present their collections. A note from her mom in Jessica's lunchbox gives her a great idea-and provides the perfect way for the child to complete her assignment. Howard's cartoons feature warmly drawn characters with expressive facial expressions, and pastel color washes offsetting the white space. The artist accurately depicts Jessica's mini-collections, so readers can count each group of 10 objects-all the way to 100. Teachers and students will enjoy this sweet story as they prepare their own celebrations. A worthy companion to Joseph Slate's Miss Bindergarten Celebrates the 100th Day of Kindergarten (Dutton, 1998).-Lisa Gangemi Krapp, Rockville Centre Public Library, NY Copyright 2000 Cahners Business Information.