'My First Day' tells the story, in lyrical and poetic prose, of a young boy's first journey alone to school by boat along the Mekong Delta of Vietnam. His route takes him across stormy waves, through mangrove forests, and across the paths of many animals. At times his journey is factual, and at times takes off into the realms of imagination and fantasy, with beautiful illustrations blurring the boundaries between these the two worlds in the boy's mind as he undertakes his solo adventure. The conclusion of the story, the convergence of the boy with other boats full of his school friends, brings the reader back to reality - and the mind expanding realisation that children all over the world make a journey to school each day, but their paths are wildly different.