Are you looking for some children's books to read with your students during
the first week of school? Here is a collection of 15 of my favorite
back-to-school books you should check out. Some of these are classics I
read with my students back in the 90s. Others are 'new favorites' I
recently discovered.
Disclosure:
Affiliate links
to Amazon are included in this post.
A Letter From Your Teacher On the First Day of School by Shannon Olsen
From the author and illustrator of Our Class is a Family, this heartwarming picture book helps teachers in welcoming their new group of students on the first day of school. Through a letter written from the teacher’s point of view, students are given the message that their new teacher is someone they will get to form a special bond with. Their teacher is not only there to help them academically, but also to cheer them on, and to provide a caring, safe environment for them to learn and grow. During back-to-school time, teachers are wanting to set the tone for the new year. In addition to establishing rules and procedures, they are ready to get to know their kids and start building positive relationships. This is a read-aloud that helps with laying that foundation, and it serves as a great starting point for get-to-know-you activities and class community building.🍎 Author: Shannon Olsen
🍎 Illustrator: Sandie Sonke
🍎 Publisher: Shannon Olsen
🍎 Date: May 11, 2021
🍎 Pages: 30
The Pout-Pout Fish Goes to School by Deborah Diesen
Turn little pouts into big smiles! Mr. Fish is nervously awaiting his first day of school, and he frets about not knowing how to write his name, how to draw shapes, and how to do math—until he's reassured that school is the perfect place to learn how to master all of these new skills, in Pout-Pout Fish Goes to School from Deborah Diesen and Dan Hanna.🍎 Title: The Pout-Pout Fish Goes to School
🍎 Author: Deborah Diesen
🍎 Illustrator: Dan Hanna
🍎 Publisher: Farrar, Straus, and Giroux
🍎 Date: June 24, 2014
🍎 Pages: 32
The Pigeon HAS to Go to School by Mo Williams
Mo Willems' Pigeon is BACK in a hilarious story perfect for those about to start school or nursery. The Pigeon is about to get SCHOOLED. Do YOU think he should go? Why does the Pigeon have to go to school? He already knows everything! Well ... almost everything. And what if he doesn't like it? What if the teacher doesn't like him? I mean, what if he learns TOO MUCH!?!
🍎 Title:
The Pigeon HAS to Go to School
🍎 Author: Mo Williams
🍎 Illustrator: Mo Williams
🍎 Publisher: Walker Books
🍎 Date: July 2, 2019
🍎 Pages: 40
If You Take a Mouse to School by Laura Numeroff
If you take a mouse to school, he'll ask you for your lunch box. When you
give him your lunch box, he'll want a sandwich to go in it. Then he'll need
a notebook and some pencils. He'll probably want to share your backpack,
too. The famous mouse from If You Take a Mouse to the Movies and If You Give a Mouse a Cookie is back for his first day of school. Only Laura Numeroff and Felicia Bond
could make school this much fun!
🍎 Title:
If You Take a Mouse to School
🍎 Author: Laura Numeroff
🍎 Illustrator: Felicia Bond
🍎 Publisher: HarperCollins
🍎 Date: July 16, 2002
🍎 Pages: 32
Preschool, Here I Come! by D.J. Steinberg
A book for all preschoolers-to-be from the author of
Kindergarten, Here I Come!
From saying goodbye to parents on the very first day of school to watching
butterflies hatch in spring, D. J. Steinberg celebrates all the landmark
moments of preschool. Because the year is full of so many firsts, this
collection of funny, joyful poems is a must-have for all small scholars in the
making.
🍎 Title:
Preschool, Here I Come!
🍎 Author: D.J. Steinberg
🍎 Illustrator: John Joven
🍎 Publisher: Grosset and Dunlop
🍎 Date: July 2, 2019
🍎 Pages: 32
This School Year Will Be the Best by Kay Winters
On the first day of school, new classmates are asked to share what they would most like to happen in the upcoming year. Some kids' hopes are familiar while others are off-the-wall. Whether it's looking good on picture day or skateboarding at school, everyone's wishes are shown in humorously exaggerated illustrations. As the first day draws to a close, there can be no doubt—this school year will definitely be the best!
🍎 Title:
This School Year Will Be the Best
🍎 Author: Kay Winters
🍎 Illustrator: Renee Andriani
🍎 Publisher: Puffin Books
🍎 Date: July 11, 2013
🍎 Pages: 32
Curious George's First Day of School by Margaret and H.A. Rey
It’s the first day of school, and Curious George has been invited to Mr. Apple’s class to be a special helper! George is just the right monkey for the job—until he starts to wreak his usual havoc, that is. Red and yellow paint make orange, yellow and blue make green . . . and a mixture of all the paint colors makes a big mess! Curious George and the First Day of School is a story based on H. A. and Margret Rey’s popular primate and painted in the original watercolor and charcoal style.
🍎 Title:
Curious George's First Day of School
🍎 Authors: Margaret and H.A. Tey
🍎 Illustrator: Anna Grossnickle Hines
🍎 Publisher: Clarion Books
🍎 Date: August 1, 2005
🍎 Pages: 24
David Goes to School by David Shannon
Discover the hilarious schooltime companion to the beloved, bestselling, and Caldecott Honor-winning classic, No, David! -- now in paperback for the first time! David's teacher has her hands full. From running in the halls to chewing gum in class, David's high-energy antics fill each school day with trouble -- and are sure to bring a smile to even the best-behaved reader.
🍎 Title:
David Goes to School
🍎 Author: David Shannon
🍎 Illustrator: David Shannon
🍎 Publisher: Scholastic
🍎 Date: August 1, 1999
🍎 Pages: 32
First Day Jitters by Julie Danneberg
Everyone knows that sinking feeling in the pit of the stomach just before diving into a new situation. Sarah Jane Hartwell is scared and doesn't want to start over at a new school. She doesn't know anybody, and nobody knows her. It will be awful. She just knows it. With much prodding from Mr. Hartwell, Sarah Jane reluctantly pulls herself together and goes to school. She is quickly befriended by Mrs. Burton, who helps smooth her jittery transition. This charming and familiar story will delight readers with its surprise ending. Fun, energetic illustrations brighten page after page with the busy antics surrounding Sarah Jane. First Day Jitters is an enchanting story that is sure to be treasured by anyone who has ever anticipated the first day of school.
🍎 Title:
First Day Jitters
🍎 Author: Julie Danneberg
🍎 Illustrator: Judy Love
🍎 Publisher: Charlesbridge
🍎 Date: February 1, 2000
🍎 Pages: 32
The Day You Begin by Jacqueline Woodson
There will be times when you walk into a roomand no one there is quite like you.
There are many reasons to feel different. Maybe it's how you look or talk, or where you're from; maybe it's what you eat, or something just as random. It's not easy to take those first steps into a place where nobody really knows you yet, but somehow you do it. Jacqueline Woodson's lyrical text and Rafael López's dazzling art remind us that we all feel like outsiders sometimes-and how brave it is that we go forth anyway. And that sometimes, when we reach out and begin to share our stories, others will be happy to meet us halfway.
🍎 Title:
The Day You Begin
🍎 Author: Jacqueline Woodson
🍎 Illustrator: Rafael López
🍎 Publisher: Nancy Paulsen Books
🍎 Date: August 28, 2018
🍎 Pages: 32
Pete the Cat: Rocking in My School Shoes by James Dean
Time to head back to school with this bestselling groovy Pete the Cat book! Pete the Cat is rocking in his school shoes. Pete discovers the library, the lunchroom, the playground, and lots of other cool places at school. And no matter where he goes, Pete never stops moving and grooving and singing his song...because it’s all good.🍎 Author: James Dean
🍎 Illustrator: Eric Litwin
🍎 Publisher: HarperCollins
🍎 Date: July 26, 2011
🍎 Pages: 40
School is More Than a Building by Kelley Donner
A great school is so much more than a building... it is a place where children feel accepted for who they are. It is a place where kindness and empathy are commonplace. It is a place where children know and feel that people are there for them and that they are safe and loved. With its delightful watercolor illustrations of school life, School is More Than a Building paints a positive picture of a school environment where children know and understand that the people who work there care and look out for their best interests. When read aloud, children are reminded that they are part of a very special community and that schools are there for them.
🍎 Title:
School is More Than a Building
🍎 Author: Kelley Donner
🍎 Illustrator: Kelley Donner
🍎 Publisher: A Little Donnerwetter
🍎 Date: May 25, 2021
🍎 Pages: 34
Butterflies on the First Day of School by Annie Silvestro
The first day of school is exciting—but it can be scary, too! Meet Rosie, a brand-new student who just happens to have butterflies in her stomach. Rosie can’t wait to start kindergarten—she’s had her pencils sharpened and her backpack ready for weeks. But suddenly, on the night before the big day, her tummy hurts. Rosie’s mom reassures her that it’s just butterflies in her belly, and she’ll feel better soon. Much to Rosie’s surprise, when she says hello to a new friend on the bus, a butterfly flies out of her mouth! As the day goes on, Rosie frees all her butterflies and even helps another shy student let go of hers, too.🍎 Author: Annie Silvestro
🍎 Illustrator: Dream Chen
🍎 Publisher: Sterling Children's Books
🍎 Date: May 7, 2019
🍎 Pages: 32
I Got the School Spirit by Connie Shofield-Morrison
This exuberant celebration of the first day of school illustrated by award-winning illustrator Frank Morrison will have every kid cheering for school to begin! Summer is over, and this little girl has got the school spirit! She hears the school spirit in the bus driving up the street--VROOM, VROOM!--and in the bell sounding in the halls--RING-A-DING! She sings the school spirit in class with her friends--ABC, 123! The school spirit helps us all strive and grow. What will you learn today?
🍎 Title:
I Got the School Spirit
🍎 Author: Connie Shofield-Morrison
🍎 Illustrator: Frank Morrison
🍎 Publisher: Bloomsbury Children's Books
🍎 Date: July 7, 2020
🍎 Pages: 32
If I Built a School by Chris Van Dusen
My school will amaze you. My school will astound.By far the most fabulous school to be found!
Perfectly planned and impeccably clean.
On a scale, 1 to 10, it's more like 15!
And learning is fun in a place that's fun, too.
In this exuberant companion to If I Built a Car, a boy fantasizes about his dream school--from classroom to cafeteria to library to playground. If Jack built a school, there would be hover desks and pop-up textbooks, skydiving wind tunnels and a trampoline basketball court in the gym, a robo-chef to serve lunch in the cafeteria, field trips to Mars, and a whole lot more. The inventive boy who described his ideal car and house in previous books is dreaming even bigger this time.
🍎 Title:
If I Built a School
🍎 Author: Chris Van Dusen
🍎 Illustrator: Chris Van Dusen
🍎 Publisher: Dial Books
🍎 Date: August 13, 2019
🍎 Pages: 32
Second Grade, Here I Come! by D.J. Steinberg
Go back to school for second grade—and get ready to go with these fun and silly poems! D. J. Steinberg's heartfelt, relatable, and silly poems bring to life the highlights of second grade—reading those big-kid books, trying out for the school play, and even dance breaks to wiggle "arms and legs and kaboodles. . . like a big bunch of second-grade noodles!" Covering an entire school year of holidays, memorable moments, and important life lessons, this is perfect for soon-to-be second graders!
🍎 Title:
Second Grade, Here I Come!
🍎 Author: D.J. Steinberg
🍎 Illustrator: Laura Wood
🍎 Publisher: Grosset and Dunlap
🍎 Date: June 13, 2017
🍎 Pages: 32
Did you enjoy this collection of back-to-school crafts? If so, check out
these other blog posts about additional back to school ideas:
- Collection: Back-to-School Crafts for Kids
- Book: School is More Than a Building by Kelley Donner
- Book + Printable: Splat the Cat by Rob Scotton
- Collection: Back to School Red Apple Crafts for Kids
No comments:
Post a Comment