Review: Lulu's First Day by Anna McQuinn, illustrated by Rosalind Beardshaw

There’s a huge milestone happening for Lulu: it’s her first day at school! In this tenderly told reassuring story from author Anna McQuinn, we learn about Lulu’s experience of leaving home, for the first time, to go to preschool.

It’s clear that McQuinn intuitively knows how young children feel about the transition to preschool as, throughout the story, she perceptively anticipates and addresses children's potential worries in a gentle and extremely positive way.

The illustrations are soft and calming with lovely little observational details especially around hair, such as Lulu and Mum’s matching hairbands, Lulu’s daily change of hairstyle, and a lovely mum-and-daughter hair-combing session.

It’s great to see a confident, resourceful, self-motivated, imaginative little Black girl shining bright in this early years picture book, which is part of a series from inclusive publisher Alanna Max.

The language is simple and clear: perfect for early readers although there is some scope to challenge children who are ahead with higher-level questions: Why is it not a good idea for Lulu to wear her best party dress to preschool? Why do you think Lulu has packed spare clothes in her bag? How is Lulu feeling when mummy says goodbye? How do we know that Lulu feels sad/worried/scared?

Parents, carers, and EYFS practitioners will find this book very useful. It’s the perfect text to help young children prepare for and settle into their early years settings, giving them a clear understanding of what to expect, strategies for adjusting to the new routine, and for making friends.

Guide for teachers and parents

Genre	Narrative – story with familiar settings and strong themes for talk
Child-led interests (EYFS)	role play (home, schools/teachers)
Age group (EYFS, KS1, KS2)	Nursery and lower reception
Curriculum links/topics (EYFS/NC)	EYFS: CAL PSED
Suitability	school and class library, storytime, home-reader
General features	mostly simple present tense, third-person narration, time connectives (soon, now, tomorrow, after, next)

All the Black children's books that I review are checked against my Jericho Benchmark.