“It’s the first day of kindergarten, and our protagonist is ready.... Describes in confident, loving, sometimes humorous terms what that day will be like.... Buoyant prose.... A beamingly positive intro to a new experience that gives youngsters a great framing for their best behavior; the winking touch to the grandiloquence keeps it from being sentimental and instead makes it jubilant, affectionately jokey cheerleading. Line and digital artwork provides lively, playful background textures and details.... There are plenty of reassuring books about starting kindergarten, but this delightfully moves beyond 'It will be okay and you might even like it' to a straight out 'You will crush this!'” (The Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books, starred review)

“When a mother gives her son the titular nickname, it inspires him throughout his first day of school.... Affirming text and energizing drawings...which skillfully balance bright colors, patterns, and textures, should put a spring in the step of any reluctant kindergartner: who wouldn’t want to be thought of as ‘the charming, the wonderful and the kind’ class sovereign?” (Publishers Weekly, starred review)

“The playful illustrations use texture and shadow to great effect, with vibrant colors and dynamic shapes and lines sustaining readers' interest on every page. Text and visuals work together beautifully to generate excitement and confidence in children getting ready to enter kindergarten. The little king's smiling brown face is refreshing and heartwarming.... Necessary nourishment, infectiously joyous.” (Kirkus Reviews, starred review)