Scarecited on the First Day of School

by Alliah L. Agostini, Lala Watkins (Illustrator)

Overview

For fans of School’s First Day of School, this is a picture book about a young girl who is feeling mixed emotions about her first day of school.

Some feelings are so big, one word just doesn’t cut it.    

It’s the first day of school for Afua! There’s no one word to name her feelings. Is she scared? Excited? Oh wait, she’s scarecited! Her own combination of both. Why should she have to choose?

Scarecited on the First Day of School is a charming picture book that reminds us all that having the courage to be our authentic self is always just enough, and you can feel more than one big emotion at the same time. But if there isn’t one word to describe those feelings . . . there’s beauty in making it yourself.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780374390020
Publisher:	Farrar, Straus and Giroux
Publication date:	06/03/2025
Pages:	40
Product dimensions:	8.85(w) x 11.25(h) x 0.30(d)
Age Range:	3 - 6 Years

About the Author

Alliah L. Agostini is the author of Junior Library Guild Selection Big Tune: Rise of the Dancehall Prince, Scarecited on the First Day of School, The Juneteenth Story, The Juneteenth Cookbook, Great Idea Malia!, and more joyful books for children. Alliah and her work have been featured on Essence.com, TODAY with Hoda & Jenna, and more. She lives with her family in New Jersey.

Lala Watkins is an author-illustrator and designer who lives in sunny Florida and is a self-proclaimed connoisseur of good vibes. Since graduating with a BFA in graphic design and interactive communications from Ringling College of Art and Design, she has worked at Sanrio, Paper Culture, and Cartoon Network. She is also the illustrator of Scarecited on the First Day of School by Alliah L. Agostini, Sankofa: A Culinary Story of Resilience and Belonging by Eric Adjepong, and Bus Stop by Angela H. Dale.

Editorial Reviews

04/28/2025

Vocab mash-ups propel this emotionally aware first-day-of-school tale. Narrator Afua, portrayed with brown skin, starts off experiencing emotions including “scarecited” (“scared and excited”) and “shurious” (“shy but curious”). But roll call leads to Afua’s feeling “sadbarrassed” after the teacher mispronounces their name. As the day continues, further portmanteaus from Agostini capture the child’s reactions to slime-making in science and eating a mac ’n’ cheese lunch. Echoing the text’s emphasis on recombinatory approaches, brightly colored digital brushwork and handmade textures give Watkins’s blocky artwork a collage feel. And as the school day winds down, a “bravous” feeling (“brave but nervous. My heart is pounding fast!”) precedes the protagonist’s correcting the teacher’s earlier error—a winningly reassuring resolution in a work that focuses on emotion-naming and empowerment. Background characters are portrayed with various abilities and skin tones. Ages 3–6. (June)

Publishers Weekly

"Fun, humorous, and realistic, with a great representation of students and an emphasis on learning language in a fun manner, this book is a must-have for both libraries and classrooms... the next great read-aloud." —School Library Journal, starred review

"Agostini captures the all-too-familiar feeling of experiencing more than one emotion at a time, encourages both self-advocacy and creative self-expression, and acknowledges the power of being seen." —Kirkus Reviews

"Echoing the text’s emphasis on recombinatory approaches, brightly colored digital brushwork and handmade textures give Watkins’s blocky artwork a collage feel... a work that focuses on emotion-naming and empowerment." —Publishers Weekly

From the Publisher

★ 04/11/2025

PreS-Gr 3—Like any other kid, Afua has her first day of school, and she is very scarecited for it. Plus, she wants to look perfectly flute. Unfortunately, like most first days of school, things do not go perfectly for Afua. Her teacher mispronounces her name, making her feel sadbarrassed while also getting hangry. Luckily for her, she is spappy when someone asks her to sit with them at lunch, and she is able to correct her teacher on her name, so by the end of the day she is bravous and bired. Afua's journey through the first day of school is a good representation of what many students will find themselves in, and the clever wordplay adds a fun element to the story. Young audiences will enjoy working out the words and figuring out what they mean before Afua reveals them. The classroom has a great and diverse cast, playfully portrayed with bright, popping illustrations. The book also makes clever use of text design, creating emphasis through color and design on words of importance to Afua. The illustrations also help readers see the world as she sees it, both outside of her head and her inner thoughts. VERDICT Fun, humorous, and realistic, with a great representation of students and an emphasis on learning language in a fun manner, this book is a must-have for both libraries and classrooms. This should be the next great read-aloud.—Richard Winters

School Library Journal

2025-04-04
Afua’s first-day jitters can’t be conveyed with a single feeling or word.

Feeling “scarecited” (scared and excited), Afua wonders what school will be like. “Will I make a friend?” Afua’s outfit is “flute” (fly and cute), and upon entering the classroom, the young narrator is “shurious” (shy and curious). Afua’s ready to start the day until the teacher, Ms. Lane, mispronounces Afua’s name. “Sadbarrassed” (sad and embarrassed), Afua wonders, “Why is my name so hard?” A classmate named Teal, noticing Afua’s distress, invites the protagonist to eat lunch, and as the two race around on the playground, Teal pronounces Afua’s name correctly. Inspired—and feeling “bravous” (brave and nervous)—Afua approaches Ms. Lane to correct her pronunciation (phonetic text will help young readers also say Afua’s name right). The teacher’s kind words leave Afua feeling “prelieved” (proud and relieved). Bold illustrations and word lettering match the high-energy excitement of the first-day-of-school setting. Agostini captures the all-too-familiar feeling of experiencing more than one emotion at a time, encourages both self-advocacy and creative self-expression, and acknowledges the power of being seen. Afua and Teal present Black; their class is diverse. The book opens with pronunciation guides for the author’s and illustrator’s names.

A simple yet uplifting school story.(Picture book. 4-8)

Kirkus Reviews