A+ Custodian

"Mr. Carillo is our A+ Custodian!"

John Carillo, Dublin Elementary School's custodian, has a big job. He mops and sweeps, polishes and scrubs, changes lightbulbs, washes windows, fixes pipes, moves furniture, and more! The teachers, students, parents, and principal all count on Mr. Carillo, and he never lets them down.

Now his early-bird helpers, Gracie and Zach, want to do something to show Mr. Carillo how important he is to them.

But showing him how much they appreciate everything he does will take lots of planning, some hard work, and the help of everyone in the whole school!

In her classic style Louise Borden brings to vivid focus one elementary school, the students and faculty who bring it to life, and the clever way they show Mr. Carillo he's their A+ custodian!

Leila Toledo - Children's Literature

Mr. Carillo is the custodian at Dublin elementary school. He fixes pipes, cleans the floors, changes light bulbs, makes coffee for the teachers, and performs a myriad of other tasks. Two children, Grace and Zach, come to school early, every day, because their mother is a teacher at the school. So they begin to follow Mr. Carillo around watching his every move. After asking if they can help, they become Mr. Carrillo's assistants and help with various chores. Mr. Carillo dubs them his "Early Bird Helpers," which makes them feel special. The students and faculty feel that he is a top-notch custodian and they want to show their appreciation to him for keeping their school in tip-top shape. After a meeting, which they keep secret, they make a plan. At the beginning of the school week, Mr. Carillo arrives as usual but the children and staff surprise him with a flood of unique thank-you notes posted around the building—on the doors, on his bucket, on the banister of the stairway and in the boiler room. Through this story children can learn to appreciate and respect all of the people who make their education a wonderful experience. 2004, Margaret K. Mc Elderry Books, Ages 6 to 9.

Louise Borden is the author of more than a dozen fiction and nonfiction books for children and lives with her husband, Pete, in Terrace Park, Ohio.

Adam Gustavson is a graduate of Rowan University and the Master of Fine Arts Illustration program at the School of Visual Arts in New York. In addition to illustrating picture books, he currently teaches at Passaic County Community College and Seton Hall University. He lives and paints in West Orange, New Jersey, with his wife, their children, several guitars, and a ferret named Gracie.