Tibili: The Little Boy Who Didn't Want to Go to School by Marie Leonard, illustrated by Andree Prigent Ages 4-8 36 pages Kane/Miller November 2001 Hardcover     Any child about to start school for the first time will love Tibili: The Little Boy Who Didn’t Want to Go to School by Marie Leonard. Tibili is a happy child who loves to laugh, but it all gets real serious and scary when his mom tells him he will be starting school, so he sets out to ask his creature friends about how he can get out of going to school. There are all the usual ideas – claiming to be sick, hiding from his mother - you know, the stuff your own kids tried on you. But Tibili soon realizes those excuses won’t work in the long run and goes to visit a very wise friend who tells him to seek out a hidden treasure. This treasure is a Box of Knowledge, only Tibili soon comes to understand that he cannot open the box without a very special key, and that only by going to school can he achieve that secret key. This is author Leonard’s first children’s book, and it is a fun story with a great message that never preaches but is built right into the insightful plot. The whimsical illustrations of Andree Prigent readily capture the bold colors of life on the African savannah, where Tibili lives and plays. Read this book to your little one and he or she will want to get up and go to school right away, ready and eager to learn and experience all the adventures that just cannot happen when you stay home sick in bed all day or hide from you parents.   web reviews   Marie D. Jones/2006 for curled up with a good kid's book   For grown-up fiction, nonfiction and speculative fiction book reviews, visit our sister site Curled Up With a Good Book (www.curledup.com)