Big Kids

A Chicago Public Library Best Books of 2025“First-day-of-school picture books traditionally begin with a young child’s fears and end with a good experience, but few conclude as joyfully as Going’s story of timidity overcome with the aid of a new friend’s efforts.”–Booklist“Brown’s painterly digital renderings add visual variability with textures throughout scenes that abundantly amplify the size disparity between the small younger students and the oversize older kids. But while the visuals seem to justify the child’s overwhelm, Going’s text reveals a reassuring story about the many ways an older pal can be a source of assistance.”–PW“It’s the lived-in vibrancy of the school and its inhabitants, the exaggerated difference in the kids’ sizes, and the shifting perspective that create the emotional resonance…. A winner for first day read alouds. Highly recommended.”–SLJ“The digital illustrations are the stars of the show….Just the right size for easing school anxieties.”–Kirkus

K.L. Going is the author of many critically acclaimed novels, including The Liberation of Gabriel King and the Printz Honor-winning Fat Kid Rules the World, as well as the picture books Bumpety, Dunkety, Thumpety-Thump! and This Is the Planet Where I Live. She lives with her family in Glen Spey, New York.

Reggie Brown is a New York Times bestselling and award-winning illustrator of many children’s books, including the New York Times bestselling Who Are Your People? by Bakari Sellers, Santa in the City by Tiffany D. Jackson, Tacko Fall: To New Heights by Tacko Fall and Justin Haynes, and the Magnificent Makers series by Theanne Griffith. Reggie lives with his wife, Demi, in San Diego, California.

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