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Reviewed by Jamie Michele for Readers' Favorite
Zion the Magnificent and the Frightful First Day of School, written by Imeisha Williams and illustrated by Nareh Grigoryan, is a children's picture book that features a little boy named Adam who is not terribly keen on starting school. The book begins with Adam and his twin sister Abigail waking up with two very different outlooks. Abigail can barely contain her excitement at it finally being her first day of school, whereas Adam is having none of it at all. He's anxious and has no intention of leaving the house. When Abigail goes to tell their parents that Adam is ready to hide, Adam ends up in the company of a little boy wizard named Zion who shows him what staying at home will mean with regard to what Adam will miss out on at school. All of this is brought to life through illustrations reminiscent of both sketch and watercolor art in a gorgeous palette of softened jewel tones.
Adam is every single one of us parents on a Monday morning. Adam and I got on really well from page one and, I'm not going to lie, I was hoping that all of Adam's little introvert dreams came true. Then I looked at my daughter and remembered that Zion the Magnificent and the Frightful First Day of School was intended for her and, to a certain extent, it was about her. There are two areas where Adam and my young reader connected that I think many parents will appreciate. The first is that Adam and Abigail are children of color, and with a child of color myself it is extremely important that I find books where the children in them represent her. The artwork by Nareh Grigoryan is absolutely gorgeous and to an illustrative quality that is comparable to some of kid-lits' most acclaimed artists. The second is that author Imeisha Williams neither shies away from nor minimizes Adam's very real social anxiety. Do you know how happy I am that nobody told Adam that he just had to crack on and go? Adam was given agency. He was shown what it was like to be at school and he made the choice to go...and was happy. THANK YOU to Imeisha Williams for letting Adam work through his anxiety instead of being tossed into the pool. I have nothing but love for this little book and would give it a whole bucket of stars if I could.
