Character: Sarah, Mr. Hartwell, Mrs. Burton, and the students
Setting: Home and school, in the morning
Plot: Sarah doesn’t want to go to school.
The story “First Day Jitters” written by Julie Danneberg talks about Sarah’s first day of school in the morning. It is the first day of school. Mr. Hartwell calls Sarah for breakfast, but she doesn’t want to go so she stays on bed and puts the cover over her head. Sarah and Mr. Hartwell have a little argument. At last, Sarah gets out of bed, goes to the bathroom, and changes her clothes. After breakfast, they get into the car and drive to school. Sarah is scared at first in the car. Mrs. Burton gets her out of the car and leads her into the classroom. They talk a little bit in the hallway. Mrs. Burton introduces Sarah, and it turns out that Sarah is a teacher, not a student.
The author gave a special ending to surprise the reader what they are thinking. Usually when the reader reads a book they can guess what is going to happen next but the author can twist the ending to surprise the reader. When the author writes “I don’t want to start all over again. I hate my new school.”. The author suggests that Sarah was a student. At the end, the author revealed the truth by writing “Your new teacher, Mrs. Sarah Jane Hartwell.” When Sarah said she hates her new school, I thought she was a student because I thought only students would be scared of a new school. Also, Mrs. Burton walks Sarah in the hallway. I thought Sarah is a new student but when it turns out at the end, Sarah is a teacher. This totally blew me away. The author tricked readers by making them “I thought”. The surprising ending always leads the reader to think in a new direction.
Teachers, sometimes the same as students, also feel afraid of the first day at school. When people try out new things or go to a new place, they might be nervous or scared to try it because they don’t know what is going to happen. Sarah tells Mr. Hartwell that she hates the new school and she doesn’t want to start over again. Mr. Hartwell comforts Sarah and explains she will like the new school and she will make new friends just like other schools she had before. Everyone could be scared when experiencing new things. Not only students will be nervous but teachers will be nervous too on the first day of school. Being scared or nervous of trying new things is natural because people will think “what will happen to me when I try this?”. It is understandable that people, no matter how old they are, will be afraid of new things or new places. Other people should try to comfort them while they are nervous.
The author uses the writing skills of assonance to attract the readers. Assonance means words that have the same vowels that are pronounced the same way. The author uses the words, Tumbled, stumbled, and fumbled, to describe Sarah getting out of bed, going to the bathroom, and changing her clothes. The reader might not know the meaning of the words but it gets the reader’s attention when they read it. Using assonance is a strong thing because when the reader reads it, it will get more attention from the reader. When reading that book, these action words give the reader a mind movie to imagine Sarah’s feelings. Writers use assonances just to catch the reader’s attention and let the reader know what is going on.
This is a good and funny book. I learn a lot of things from this book. First, the word that means that at least two word’s vowel is pronounced the same way is called assonance. Authors do this to get the reader's attention. Next, special endings can really surprise the reader. When the reader is reading to the end and wants to find out if his or her prediction is right, the special ending will surprise them. Last, it is normal that people, no matter old or young, teachers or students, or boys or girls, tend to be nervous when they experience new things. What they need is a hug or chat to make them feel better, rather than blame them for not being brave.
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