Skip to main content

Five Faves: Back to School

School started back up again last week and with that comes all kinds of emotions! Excitement for a new year, sadness that summer is over, and fear of the unknown. A new school year means lots of changes, and to help with those changes here are five picture books about back to school experiences!

Written by Simon Rich
Illustrated by Tom Toro
New York: Little, Brown and Company, 2023. Picture Book.

The first day of school can be a little scary for everyone, even your backpack! This funny picture book is all from the perspective of a backpack. Backpack has books shoved down its throat, is left on sticky floors, and can't even see where it is going as it is walked down the halls. Just like everyone, Backpack just wants to find friends to make school even better!

By Monica Arnaldo
New York, NY: Katherine Tegen Books, an imprint of HarperCollinsPublishers, 2023. Picture Book.

A class of Kindergarteners show up on the first day of school and instead of finding a regular teacher in their classroom, they find a sandwich, with "Mr. S" written on the board. They assume that the sandwich must be their new teacher for the year and begin learning all they can!

Written by Cara Devins
Illustrated by K-Fai Steele
New York: Feiwel and Friends, 2023. Picture Book.

The first day of school comes and the students realize that they are getting a new librarian at their school. The students are sad to lose their old librarian and decide that they are going to refuse to read until their old librarian comes back. Change can be difficult but the students learn that it doesn't always have to be bad.

Written by Supriya Kelkar
Illustrated by Sandhya Prabhat
New York: Farrar Straus Giroux, 2023. Picture Book.

The first day of school is a time to learn everyone's names. An Indian American boy is excited to go school but gets discouraged when his classmates can't pronounce his name. His parents help him realize how special his name is and how he can be proud of it instead of ashamed.

Written by MĆ³nica Mancillas
Illustrated by Betty C. Tang
New York, NY: Roaring Brook Press, 2023. Picture Book.

Isla has a lot of anxiety and worries about the first day of school. She learns how to take all of her worries and visualizes herself blowing those worries into a giant balloon. As she goes to school, whenever she has a worry pop in her head she uses her new found skills to help her breathe and think happy thoughts.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Review: Faker

Faker By Gordon Korman New York: Scholastic Press, 2024. Fiction. 214 pages. 12-year-old Trey is used to starting over at a new school -- he has the routine perfectly memorized: make new friends, introduce his dad to the wealthy parents of his new friends, and "Houdini" themselves out of there before they get caught running their latest scam. Trey's dad is a master con artist, and Trey has just been promoted to full-partner. Their new scheme for the next big score brings them to the affluent suburb of Boxelder, TN where Trey's dad has cooked up a fake electric car company for investors to buy into. The only problem is that Trey is starting to grow tired of moving around and never putting down roots, especially after forming a fast friendship with Logan and developing a crush on Kaylee, a socially conscious girl in his class. As Trey longs for a normal life, is there any way he can convince his dad to get out of the family business? Gordon Korman is a perennial favorit...

Review: Umami

  Umami By Jacob Grant New York: Viking, an imprint of Penguin Random House LLC, 2024. Picture Book. Umami is a little penguin who is sick of eating the same thing everyday, cold fish --ugh! She becomes determined to find new foods and flavors, so Umami begins a journey across the sea in search of something different to eat. She reaches a place with a plethora of delicious options, and tries bitter, sweet, sour, and foods with umami (just like her name!) among others. Umami decides to bring all these delicious new flavors back for the other penguins to try in a feast. But, will the other penguins enjoy this new experience?  Filled with charm and humor, Umami is a diverse romp through a universal experience --am I willing to try something new? What will it be like? The idea of trying new foods and flavors make it especially relatable, and the appealing illustrations will have many readers ready to hop out on a culinary adventure. A humorous and sweet ending, caps off this delig...

Five Faves: Easy Readers of 2024

Hello world! I know you have been anticipating the release of this list all year... my favorite easy readers! Whether they're funny or sweet, these titles are all great for kids taking their first steps for reading. So without further ado...here are my five favorite easy readers of 2024. Lone Wolf Goes to School Written by Kiah Thomas Illustrated by K-Fai Steele New York: Neal Porter Books/Holiday House, 2024. Easy Reader.  Lone wolf would spend all of his time alone if he could. Unfortunately, he has to go to school with the "snotty" kids, and even when he leaves school there's people at the beach, on the mountains, and at the movie theater. What's a wolf to do? Invite them all to a party at his house and then leave so that all the places he wants to be are empty, of course! If you're looking for a moralistic read-aloud that will teach the virtues of making friends so that you aren't lonely, you should definitely look elsewhere. However, if you're loo...