September may be coming to an end. But that doesn’t make getting to school any easier for your child.
A new school year can have both exciting and scary changes for kids. The backpack is packed, the lunch money is in hand, and oh it’s time for a new school year! Getting ready for school means a lot of changes — a new grade, teachers, friends, and routines, but it’s all fun and safe when shared within the covers of a book. Kids ages 0-9 will enjoy the recommended children’s books on this list, which are all about going to school.
Check out these books to help calm any back to school jitters!
What are your favorite books to read with your kids before they head back to school? Visit PBS Parents for more information.
Brand-new Pencils, Brand-new Books
Age Level: 3-6
Reading Level: Beginning Reader
With support from a wise teacher, Gilbert discovers that everyone can do different things well, including making new friends, on the day he begins first grade and his little sister starts preschool.
Reading Level: Independent Reader
Age Level: 6-9
Zuri and Danitra are best friends, but have very different responses to school from first day jitters all the way to the halfway mark of the school year. Poems combine with luminous watercolors to chronicle the girls’ range of experiences and concerns.
Hunter’s Best Friend at School
Age Level: 3-6
Reading Level: Beginning Reader
Hunter learns that even though he and Stripe are best friends, he can still be true to his feelings. The gentle text and humorous illustrations demonstrate the difficulty presented by peer pressure. Hunter and Stripe become rivals but resolve it in Hunter & Stripe and the Soccer Showdown (2005).
Age Level: 3-6
Reading Level: Beginning Reader
Five-year-old Luna is afraid she’ll find monsters at her new school until a kind teacher and her new classmates show her that she has nothing to fear in this touching bilingual story.
Ready, Set, Preschool: Stories, Poems & Picture Games
Age Level: 3-6
Reading Level: Beginning Reader
Children and their parents are encouraged to get ready for preschool in stories, poem and games that deal with a range of skills and topics: basic shapes, friends, the alphabet, body parts, and more. Activities and information are vivified with cartoon-like illustrations that create movement and show the action. A note for parents completes this attractive package.
Illustrated by: Emily McCully
Age Level: 3-6
Reading Level: Beginning Reader
Bitty, the smallest mouse in the family is sure that her mother won’t miss her when she follows the big kids to school. Of course, Bitty’s mom misses her but Bitty is taken into school and becomes the teacher’s helper until her worried mom comes to pick her up. The author/illustrator has newly added a minimal text to this once wordless but still winning tale of the younger sibling left behind.
Age Level: 6-9
Reading Level: Independent Reader
Rhymes, games and even insults have been part of an oral tradition as long as there have been children, outdoor activities and playgrounds (remember “Liar, liar, pants on fire…”or “I’m rubber, you’re glue….”?). These lively ditties combine with humorous illustrations for a contemporary and playful look at a shared childhood tradition.
Age Level: 6-9
Reading Level: Independent Reader
When not picked as pet helper, second grader, Sam, decides to take the class hamster on their field trip. Unfortunately, George Washington gets mixed up with other hamsters at the science museum but Sam proves that he is knowledgeable and saves the day (or at least the hamster). Children will recognize Sam’s behavior and his emotions in this easy to read school story.