Hurry, Kate, or You'll Be Late!

by Janice N Harrington (Author) Tiffany Rose (Illustrator)

Reading Level: K − 1st Grade

A young girl stops to call out all the sights and sounds on her morning trip to pre-school, but that's not what makes her late--it is her dad's goodbye hug.

Kate was late for preschool, but not for the reasons you might expect. It wasn't because her daddy brushed her hair into poofs, or because they slowed to say hello to neighbors on the way to the bus stop. It wasn't even because she had to wave to all the trucks, cars, and street cleaners on the road. No, Kate was late because just after they arrived at school, her daddy swooped in to give her a great big goodbye hug that lasted a very long time.

Janice N. Harrington is the Ezra Jack Keats Award winning author of Going North. With Hurry Kate or You'll be Late, she has teamed up with illustrator Tiffany Rose to create a delightful picture book about a vehicle obsessed girl and her very patient father.

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Paperback
$8.99
This title will be released on May 6, 2025, midnight

Kirkus

A tender snapshot of a loving daddy-daughter bond.

ALA/Booklist

The author and illustrator craft a realistic and beautifully illustrated story about the bond between a father and a daughter. This book will make a terrific addition to collections of books about families or schools.

Review quotes

This tale of a doting father taking his child to school is brightly illustrated in primary colors that pop off the page. Daddy's affection for Kate comes through clearly, from a scene of him brushing her hair to a moment where he stoops to adjust her backpack and tie her shoe. Small book lovers are sure to respond to the joyful imagery as well as the lyrical bounce of the language. . . . A tender snapshot of a loving daddy-daughter bond. - Kirkus Reviews


Janice N Harrington
Janice N. Harrington is an award-winning poet and children's book author. Her children's books include Catching a Storyfish, Busy-Busy Little Chick, Roberto Walks Home, The Chicken-Chasing Queen of Lamar County, and Going North. She is the director of the Creative Writing Program at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign.

Theodore Taylor III is the illustrator of multiple children's books, including Shaquille O'Neal's Little Shaq series and When the Beat Was Born: DJ Kool Herc and the Creation of Hip Hop, for which he received the Coretta Scott King John Steptoe New Talent Award. Visit theodore3.com.
Classification
Fiction
ISBN-13
9780823455973
Lexile Measure
-
Guided Reading Level
-
Publisher
Margaret Ferguson Books
Publication date
May 06, 2025
Series
-
BISAC categories
JUV013060 - Juvenile Fiction | Family | Parents
JUV035000 - Juvenile Fiction | School & Education
JUV009070 - Juvenile Fiction | Concepts | Date & Time
Library of Congress categories
Picture books
Schools
Tardiness
Nursery schools
Preschool children

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