A clever, comical re-imagining of the classic "first day of school" story, with a circus twist!

Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls of all ages! It's the most amazing day on earth: the first day of school! It can be a daunting prospect, but don't worry -- your big brother can show you the ropes. Join a nervous boy and his enthusiastic older brother as they navigate the highs and lows of a first day at school . . . except this school is a big top, and the teacher is named Miss Stupendous, and the cafeteria can be a zoo, literally! It turns out, school isn't so scary when you can let off steam during recess (on a steam train) and walk on stilts to all of your classes. With a bit of help from family and some new friends, you'll make it to the top of the class in no time! This charming take on school readiness will delight new school-goers and take a bit of the fear out of those first-day jitters.

TARA LAZAR taught herself to juggle at age ten in hopes of launching a career as a clown. Instead, she was voted class clown in school. Eventually she decided that writing silly stories like The Monstore, Little Red Gliding Hood and most recently, 7 Ate 9: The Untold Story, was better than riding silly unicycles. Tara lives in New Jersey with her acrobatic daughters, strongman husband and hoop-jumping hamster.

MELISSA CROWTON once dreamed of performing acrobatic feats as part of an international troupe of circus stars. She still hasn't nailed that backwards handstand with rotating plates, so in the meantime, she illustrates books such as Mousie, I Will Read to You, as well as the Baby Code! series of board books. She has created doodles for Google's homepage, and her work has been recognized by the Society of Illustrators, Creative Quarterly and American Illustration. Originally from Utah, she currently lives in Northern California where she tries not to break all of her dishes.