Ming Goes to School

Summary of Book

Ming goes to school, where she learns to say hello and good-bye. She meets new friends and introduces them to old friends (including her favorite teddy). She builds sandcastles and makes snow angels; she traces, glitters, and glues. She is so fearless that when held at sword point, she even walks the plank! And when she’s playing in the mud, she reaches out and touches the worms with her bare hands. But despite those brave deeds, she isn’t quite ready for the big red slide—not yet. This is a very sweet story with soft, evocative watercolor illustrations that will help kids to grow comfortable with the idea of starting preschool. Ming is curious and playful and ready for adventure, but even she gets scared of new things sometimes. Kids will relate to her desires and fears and will be excited to see Ming at the top of the slide by the story’s end.

Author Biography

Deirdre Sullivan is a writer from Galway now living in Dublin and working as a teacher. She has established a reputation for herself as a leading Irish YA author following her trilogy on the teenage years of Primrose Leary, which has been widely acclaimed (Ireland’s much-respected YA critic, Robert Dunbar, says it ‘sparkles with authenticity’); two of the Prim books were shortlisted for the CBI awards; and the final one, Primperfect, was also shortlisted for the European Prize for Literature – the only YA novel to be nominated for this award from any European country.

Illustrator Biography

Maja Löfdahl is a Cambridge-based illustrator. She studied painting at Central Saint Martins College of Art and Design in London, and has since illustrated Ming Goes to School, a children’s book by Deirdre Sullivan, which Publishers Weekly calls a “cozy portrait of everyday discoveries and accomplishments that school can bring” in a starred review.