I taught 2nd grade for 11 years. This is a great beginner’s chapter book perfect for the first week of school. The Planting Festival teaches students how to work together in their community, the importance of friendships, and that’s it’s okay to be nervous on the first day of school. A sweet story that students who are ready for beginner chapter books will enjoy reading!

The Planting Festival is a story about a young bunny named Hopper and his journey from worrying about his first day at school to becoming a forest hero. As I read the story to my children, they discover valuable advice on how to deal with uncertainty and are inspired by the positive example set by Hopper. Moreover, Hopper demonstrates self-reflection and emotional awareness, critical developmental milestones for every child. The story is written with love, care, and a deep concern for children’s inner world. The illustrations are beautiful and correspond well to the content.

My daughter loved the illustrations and the story. There were some great lessons in this and it was fun and easy to read together. Definitely a good book for kids learning about school!

It’s a beautiful and relatable story with eye catching illustrations and characters but the one thing that bothered me was the bunnies heads being a different color from the rest of their body color or body parts being a few shades off. All the other characters had beautiful designs and so did the backgrounds but the bunnies looked sloppy and unfinished

A very sweet little children’s book about the first day of school, taking care of each other, and the planet. Adorable and beautifully illustrated.

It’s a cute story and my kid was curios enough that it held her attention. Will defintiely read again before the school year starts to help her prepare!

This children's book follows a young bunny named Hopper as he starts a new journey: forest school! Though he's a little anxious at first, his mother gives him some great advice that gives him the confidence to make new friends and share his idea for a forest clean-up. There are three chapters to the book, each of which has its own small conflict and resolution, so if an early reader needs a break in between chapters, they won't be left hanging. The illustrations are colorful and engaging, and the overall message is a great one. I loved the message of approaching things that scare you with curiosity, and asking questions to better prepare yourself. I feel like I could use that advice myself!

There are questions at the end of the book to ask your young reader after story time so they can reflect on what happened in the story and how different parts made them feel. It's great for reading comprehension and building those foundational critical thinking skills.

I also appreciated that it was fairly low-stakes as far as conflict went, and sensitive kiddos would do well reading this book without becoming too anxious or overexcited.