Hopper Hoppington is so nervous for his first day of school. His two older sisters tell him how everything will be and that he will love it. He makes a new friend the first day with Shelly the turtle. His teacher asks for suggestions on how to help the forest and Hoppy speaks up to suggest a Planting Festival where they will clean the forest and plant new trees. Everyone pitches in to help and the festival is a huge success. Now Hoppy and Shelly have so much more confidence!

This was such a sweet book. I loved the artwork, especially for Forest School - it was so pretty. My son is about to start primary school and was a great starting point to discuss some of that with him. Lots of great messages in the book and the question points and the end is a great addition.

We loved the tale of Hopper and his journey navigating school, family and the planting festival. The illustrations were bright and eye-catching!

This is a cute children's book. It is LONG, and I read it to my son over three days. The illustrations are nice and there are many lessons in the book. Would recommend.

This book about starting school and being open to learning and asking questions is a little on the longer side for preschoolers, but I thought it would be a fun topic and my 4 year old would enjoy it. Unfortunately he lost interest pretty quickly and wanted to switch to something else. We only made it about 50% through the book, and he’s been uninterested in finishing it.

The illustrations were not particularly engaging either, nothing that specifically stands out.

Thank you to NetGalley for the eARC in exchange for an honest review.

The art in this one reminded my nephew of Zootopia. He asked if it was the childhood story of the bunny from that movie, It is a cute "chapter" book filled with wonderful artwork and a sweet story.

Nothing draws children in like rabbits on their first day of school. This is a story told in three chapters about Hopper and his sisters Lily and Daisy. It’s Hopper's first day of school and his sisters are helping him feel confident about it. He ends up making friends and suggesting a great idea for the community. Yay, Hopper. 👍🏼

My 4yo liked it, but it was very wordy and long for a picture book. Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the ARC!

A sweet book with colourful pictures my little one really enjoyed. We follow Hopper who is overcoming new situations and learning to be curious when faced with challenges. We see friendships, courage, and kindness explored through Hoppers day at school. This isn't anything new or radical but a gentle way to explore these themes with young readers and open up a wider conversation- helped by the Story Time Questions at the end of the book. There was some strange formatting aspects where sections of the text looked more like chapter titles and overlayed on the pictures in an unusual way, but that is more of a personal niggle than anything which detracts from the story.

Great book! I really liked how this was an early chapter rather than just your average picture book. It has the same fun that a simple picture book would have, but it has a bit more going on in the plot. Adding onto that, the author let the story be a more "slow burn", and allowed the main idea to come to fruition later on, which was a smart choice to make. It was also smart how every plot point was built off of the last, as it made this a highly cohesive book overall. As for the "message", I thought that it was effective and important, and executed nicely. I know for a fact that kids will be inspired by this book to make positive change happen in their own communities, particularly environmental changes. Lastly, the illustrations were so colorful and beautiful, and really helped to bring the story full-circle. Good job!!

So cute! A great story for a little one who is starting school for the first time and might be feeling a little nervous.
Beautiful illustrations and a lovely story.

This story about a little bunny heading to school for the first time would be perfect for any child going to kindergarten or first grade. The way his family helps him navigate this big change encourages curiosity and empathy. What a great story, with very cute illustrations!

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.