Harry Versus The First 100 Days of School
illustrated by Pete Oswald; Schwartz & Wade/Random House, June 2021
What will Harry Bergen-Murphy do when he braves first grade?
Day 1: Overcome first-day jitters.
Day 3: Find a friend.
Day 15: Make an enemy.
Day 40: Learn how to be a shark.
Day 48. Distract a bully.
Day 56: Avoid Goblin, the scary guinea pig.
Day 98: Become a pom-pom expert.
Day 99: Finish the world’s most awesome one-hundredth-day-of-school project ever, before morning.
Nothing can go wrong. Right??
Harry is ready—but he’s a little nervous! In the first one hundred days of school, he will do all of the above and much more.
Winner of a 2021 Nerdy award for Early Readers and Chapter Books from the Nerdy Book Club!
“A first-grader goes from bundle of nerves on the first day of school to, by the hundredth, a confident young learner with a fund of well-earned knowledge and social skills… Suitable for sessions of reading aloud or for solo readers ready for chapter books… infused with the author’s characteristic, multileveled tongue-in-cheek humor.”
—Booklist, starred review
"Funny, authentic, and insightful."
— The Horn Book, starred review
“Readers will love joining [Harry] on this realistic, comical, heartwarming journey. Frequent references to puke and boogers enhance the humor in this captivating tale, written with keen awareness for the way kids speak, think, and behave…A celebration of the first 100 days starring a boy brimming with personality.“
—Kirkus, starred review
“Endearing from the get-go, this warm, funny early chapter book …spotlights Harry’s adjustment to school, insightfully and entertainingly revealing his burgeoning self-reliance, tightening grasp on the meaning of friendship and family, and appreciation of the value of empathy and acceptance.”
— Publishers Weekly, starred review
"Funny, original, and completely captivating."
— R. J. Palacio, bestselling author of Wonder
Read a sample of Harry Versus the First One Hundred Days of School:
TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 4
Harry Bergen-Murphy has a pack of ten yellow pencils.
He has last year’s water bottle.
He has a new Fluff Monster lunchbox and new green sneakers.
First grade starts tomorrow! Harry will go to the Graham School, also known as Public School 48, in Brooklyn, New York. His teacher will be Ms. Peek- Schnitzel.
A too-short haircut: yeah, that happened. When he looks in the mirror, all he can see are his giant ears. He will be the eariest kid in first grade, probably. He rubs his hand over his hair. It feels tickly.
Harry is stuck using his old backpack for first grade. It’s brown and kind of ugly. But there is a new Fluff Monster key chain hanging off the zipper. His sister Charlotte gave it to him. It’s his favorite monster: Gar-Gar, the black-and-yellow one that looks like a bumble bee. Fluff Monsters are the silliest monsters in the world. Harry loves them. They are characters in a video game. They go whomple whomple when they run. Harry plays the game on his mom’s tablet.
“Are you ready for the first day of school?” says Mommy, tucking Harry into bed. She strokes his hair. “You’ll be a great first grader.”
Harry pushes out his lower lip. He is not sure she is right, but he doesn’t know how to say it.
“Are you worried?” she asks. Harry nods.
“I can understand that. But I know you, H,” she says. “I know you are ready.”
Still, Harry lies awake for a long time after she hugs him goodnight.
He worries about getting lost in the big school build- ing. About strict teachers. And rules. And learning to read. Mean kids and scary classroom guinea pigs.
He doesn’t feel ready at all.
