School is back in session, and all over the East Bay there are kids with backpacks and lunchboxes on sidewalks and in school yards. You can see them in their bright new back-to-school outfits, walking, running, and laughing together, making their way to and from the local elementaries.  The boy in this drawing might be a student at a parochial school, but I like to think that he’s one of those kids whose parents made him dress up for the first day.

The picture in his thought bubble depicts Pam, Penny, Mike, and their father. They were part of the first Black family to be featured in the classic Dick and Jane series of early reading text books. They were introduced in select editions between 1962 and 1965. I thought it was the perfect image for the beginning of a new school year.