The Night Before Middle School Written and Illustrated by Sean Kolczynski This is a fun and light-hearted story about a child’s anticipation and completion of the first day of middle school. Written by a fifth grader as an amusing takeoff on the classic Clement C. Moore Christmas poem, the book tells how he envisions his first day of middle school. Filled with the fear of unclean bathroom stalls, getting lost in the halls between classes, and mean teachers that pile on the homework, he takes the reader through his highly anticipated first day. While he does run into a few challenges during the day, like a locker that gets stuck, before the end of the day he comes to the realization that many of his fears were unfounded and that middle school can be a fun place where you might even make a few new friends. This amusing and uplifting story provides a humorous way to calm the first day jitters of even the most nervous of students, and makes a great gift for children making the transition from elementary school to middle school. Since it was written and illustrated by a fifth grader, it provides a child’s perspective on one of the most significant transitions a child will make as he/she progresses through grade school.