Lihu‘e students ‘have the jitters’ as they go back to school

Teachers Karen Liu of King Kaumuali‘i School and Aimee Ida of Wilcox School know that the class that reads together reads forever. That is why, as children headed back to school on July 31, their classes joined classrooms across the nation in participating in Charlesbridge Publishing’s “Read ‘First Day Jitters’ on the First Day of School” campaign. Schools from Maine to Hawai‘i — and all points in between — started the year off right with this “funny and insightful” book, describes a press release from the publisher.

Charlesbridge, a publisher of books for children up to the age of 14, kicked off the campaign in February 2007 to get America’s children reading on the first day of school. Many schools have special celebrations planned, including assemblies where the town mayor will read to the student body, class discussions about their own jitters, and older students reading to younger students. Children and teachers across the country, from kindergarten through college, are reading the same book on day one of classes, making “First Day Jitters” by Julie Danneberg the most read book on the first day of school.

Participants are excited to be part of a national event linking students, teachers, and schools across the U.S. Sharing books builds a foundation for a life-long love of reading and learning and increases scholastic achievement. With a sense of humor and through the power of story, these schools welcome the opportunities and challenges of a new school year.

“First Day Jitters” was published in 2000 and received a place on Publishers Weekly’s bestseller list at Back-to-School for four consecutive years. Young readers follow the plight of Sarah Jane Hartwell as she navigates her first day at a new school. Students and teachers alike can sympathize with Sarah Jane as they deal with their own back-to-school jitters.