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...

If You Like...Ladybugs

Spring is almost upon us! We'll have more rain instead of snow, flowers will start blooming, and more bugs will be out. Ladybugs are some of the prettiest insects--and the least intimidating for those more wary of bugs. If you like ladybugs, check out these books! Ladybugs Do Not Go to Preschool Written by Ali Rutstein Illustrated by NinĢ‹a Nill Richmond, VA: Bright Light, 2024. Picture Book. Ravi loves ladybugs--he eats aphids instead of cornflakes for breakfast, brushes his mandibles instead of teeth, and has a ladybug costume complete with wings and antennae. He is certain that ladybugs don't have to go to preschool, and when Mom says that Ravi still has to go to school, he is nervous. However, thanks to Mom's patience and gentle encouragement, Ravi makes some new friends and realizes that preschool might be a good place for ladybugs after all. A Perfect Spot By Isabelle Simler Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans Books for Young Readers, 2022. Picture Book. A ladybug is ready to ...

You Need to Read: Percy Jackson

I was a kid myself when  The Lightning Thief  by Rick Riordan was published, and it didn't take long for the Percy Jackson series to take the world by storm. Being the son of a Poseidon, Percy Jackson has some unique challenges as a half-blood. Here's some books that I think could've helped Percy when he was on his adventures trying to save the world: Greeking Out: Heroes and Olympians Written by Kenny Curtis and Jillian Hughes Illustrated by Javier Espila Washington D.C.: National Geographic, 2024. Informational. 191 pages. Percy, I know Chiron did a good job teaching you about mythology in Latin class, but this book is sure to be good to have on hand while you're traveling across the United States. Greeking Out  is written in a kid-friendly voice with vivid illustrations and a sometimes-snarky tone (much like Percy himself). It also presents real-life creatures and places along with the information about Greek mythology. The Homework Squad's ADHD Guide to School S...