Yellowbelly and Plum Go to School

by Nathan Hale

Yellowbelly?s stuffed bear Plum is his best friend in the world. They do everything together. So when it?s time to go off to school for the first time, Yellowbelly can?t imagine not taking Plum along. At school they learn lots of fun new things, and they both make lots of new friends.When Plum disappears, Yellowbelly is upset at first. But Plum has been off learning games that the two friends never played before. And when the two are joyfully reunited,...

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 039924624X
• ISBN13: 9780399246241
• Release Date: July 2007
• Publisher: Putnam Publishing Group
• Length: 32 Pages
• Weight: 0.90 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.4" x 8.8" x 11.2"
• Age Range: 3 years and up
• Grade Range: Preschool and higher

Customer Reviews

Fun illustrations!

Reviewed by Cayden (age 4) and Max (age 2) Aures and Mom for Reader Views (11/08) "Yellowbelly and Plum Go to School" is a fun story about Yellowbelly and his best friend, a stuffed bear named Plum. Yellowbelly and Plum are inseparable and play all kinds of creative games such as "meteor shower" and "orthodontist." It was only natural on Yellowbelly's first day of school that Plum joins him. Everything was going great until Plum got lost! Cayden: "He likes his bear a lot!" Max: "Me like my bunny!" Cayden: "Yellowbelly likes his bear like you like your bunny." Cayden: "They sure play some funny things! They are in the mailbox pretending to be envelopes!" Max: "We go in mailbox?" Cayden: "I don't think we would fit! We are too big! I don't know how they got in there!" Cayden: "They are going to school like I go to school." Max: "Plum lost!!" Cayden: "I hope he finds him! Look at all of those people. I think it is going to be really hard!" Max: "There he is!!" Cayden: "You found him Max! Good job!" Cayden: "I liked the pictures in this book. There were lots of funny-looking monsters at that school and some kids too! I liked the fun games they played. They did some funny things! I liked when Yellowbelly pretended to be a basketball and went through the hoop." Parent's comments: "Yellowbelly and Plum Go to School" by Nathan Hale was a very unique, creative book. The games that they played were original and humorous and had my children laughing out loud. The illustrations were colorful and extremely engaging and eye-catching. My boys really enjoyed this entertaining story and it will be one that we read again and again!

This book will hook your kids

Cudddly Yellowbelly's wide smile graces the cover of this children's story about getting out and growing up a little bit. Nathan Hale clearly conveys a small child's attachment to their blanket, dolly or special stuffed friend and their apprehension to interact with others. Little ones will relate to Yellowbelly's affection for Plum and they will enjoy the vibrant illustrations. Yellowbelly is an imaginative fuzzy spotted yellow creature-a monster of sorts, a cross between a bear and a leopard with a beaver-like tail. Plum is a small stuffed purple bear who goes everywhere with Yellowbelly, even to school. One day at recess, the two become separated. In a panic, Yellowbelly is worried that Plum is lost. Plum is staying very busy playing with new friends. Upon their reunion, Plum and Yellowbelly teach their friends how to play some of their favorite games and Yellowbelly learns new games from Plum's friends. I enjoyed this story. It reminded me of simple carefree days with small children. The tone and flow of the book was like a walk in the park. Youngsters will laugh at Yellowbelly and Plum. They may dare to make new friends and try new things, discovering fun beyond the security of their favorite toy. Armchair Interviews says: A good way to teach children about change.

Where, oh where is Plum?

Yellowbelly is a kind of large cat (possibly a cheetah?) and Plum is his beloved purple teddy bear with a red star on his tummy. They enjoy playing a variety of unusual games, such as "envelope" (stuffing oneself into a narrow space), "meteor shower" (emptying the contents of a container onto someone's head) and "orthodontist" (which perhaps needs to be seen to be believed). This story is about their first day of school. My two four year olds were very surprised that the kids in Yellowbelly's class are a mixture of human children and various animals. Some of these animals look very strange, and "Stitch" from Lilo and Stitch would not look at all out of place in the class. Everything goes according to plan on the first day until Plum goes missing in the playground. Fortunately, everything works out well in the end, and Yellowbelly finds some new recruits for his unusual hobbies. One of the best features of this book is the illustrations. The detailed playground scene on one double page, which shows many of these characters, could easily be the subject of a 30 minute discussion. I highly recommend it.

Fantastic fun!

I just literally stumbled across this book at a friend's house and was enchanted by it! Her son asked me to read it to him, while mine started to wander off, but two pages in both boys were hooked. The illustrations are amazing and the story is a delight. I've been telling everyone about it all day, "And then Plum was a frisbee!" I'm buying this for my son right away, and will probably buy Hale's other books as well.