Janey is worried about her first day of school. Unable to sleep, she gets up early to pack her bag with all the things she thinks she’ll need. She heads off to breakfast, but she is so nervous that she can’t even eat! So, she packs her bag with some snacks and some extras, just in case. Her dad thinks she may have overprepared for her first day at school. But it turns out, Janey has prepared herself to make new friends and help people in unexpected ways.
Author Mandy Woolf has created a wonderfully educational and encouraging children’s book that shows how one resourceful little girl overcomes her anxiety by preparing for any possibility. I really enjoyed the mantra throughout the story, “just in case”. This is a good mantra that parents can use when their own children don’t want to prepare for things. They have a pencil, so why would they need three? Just in case. This book sets a fantastic example for kids to understand how preparing for something doesn’t mean taking exactly what’s needed.
Every single page in this picture book is wonderfully illustrated. Each child is emotive and little children will be able to understand what each character is feeling because of the fantastic artwork by illustrator Elmira Georgieva. The colors are bright, and each drawing is very cute, ensuring this story will grab readers' attention.
Janey Just in Case is an educational children’s book that will be perfect for parents to kids that are about to head off to their first day of school. This would also be a perfect picture book for teachers to educate their classes on how to prepare for activities.
About the book: Tomorrow is Janey’s first day of school and worries are falling heavily on her shoulders. Waking early, she fills her backpack adding a few extras… just in case! After all, you never know what you might need for your first day of school. Follow Janey as she grows in confidence and self-belief and above all finds friendships.
Thoughts: With such bright and beautiful pictures, the lighting in Janey’s bedroom is illustrated perfectly. I love the font the story is written in, fun and funky. A clever idea to use a variety of colored fonts for each page to match the different settings in the story. A story about friendship, being kind and helpful, and most importantly self-confidence.
Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Why I rated it 5/5 stars: A relatable, interesting, and beautiful story for young children who worry. In the story, Janey is holding a teddy bear in her bedroom, which I’m sure children will relate to as most children have a comfortable teddy. This book is a useful and helpful tool for children to realize they are not alone when feeling worried, anxious, or not ready for the school day. I hope children find this story as humorous as I do, as Janey takes things to school that children wouldn’t necessarily need such as a torch, goggles, and 10 boxes of raisins! This said, as Janey packed too many snacks and some children had forgotten theirs, Janey kindly and confidently offered hers. The story explains in a child-friendly way that some children can’t cope with changes like starting a new school or making friends and to cope with this, some children pack their bags with extra things or have fidgets to keep them calm.
