Review: Time For (Earth) School, Dewey Dew!

TIME FOR (EARTH) SCHOOL, DEWEY DEW  Little one-eyed alien Dewey (short for Click-Clack Waddle-Waddle Dot-Dot Dewey Dew) is anxious about starting school on Earth, far from his home on “Planet Eight Hundred SeventyTwo Point Nine”—so much so that he “dorfles” (cries) a bit on the way there. His school outfit is uncomfortable (“Brand-new Earth shoes pinched his oofs”), and everything about the school feels foreign, from the language to the furnishings to the appearance of his Earth classmates. When it’s time to line up in pairs for recess, Dewey hides in the back of the room, until a friendly boy asks him to partner up, and Dewey leaves his first day thinking that maybe Earth school will be “ootay” after all. Sure, the setup is on the pedantic side, but the book succeeds in putting an original and successful spin on the first-day-of-school story. The alien perspective is at once relatable to kids and distant enough to provide a neutral, safe place to ponder the worries of starting school. The words in Dewey’s native tongue also inject a note of humor (and a teachable moment for inferences), further lightening the mood and upping the comfort level for listeners. Mack’s pencil, watercolor, and digital media illustrations effectively use shading and soft edges to create a cozy atmosphere both on Earth and on Dewey’s reddish, crater- flecked planet (where fluffy poof-balls on stems have a vaguely Seussian look). Blue Dewey with his single antenna, three-fingered hands, and bulgy eye is an emotive and sympathetic little fellow, and viewers will be relieved to see his palpable distress lifted by the book’s end. This is just the ticket for freshening up a back-to-school storytime or a first-day-of-school readaloud session. JH