Yesterday, I had to say goodbye to a lot of my storytime friends because they’re going to school this fall. To help ease them into this transition and get ready for school, I made our last summer storytime all about school. With less than a week until school starts in one of our districts, I hope that the kids will remember that school means friends and teachers and happy times instead of worry.
One of my new favorite school books is “Foxy” by Emma Dodd. Emily is nervous about her first day of school and hasn’t gotten all the supplies she needs. But Foxy’s magic tail can easy provide her a pencil, right? Magic hijinks ensue and I think the ending hits the perfect note of reassurance without being overly sweet. And my parents and kids agreed with me!
Since I know many of us are facing that time of year when nervous kids and parents are appearing in droves, I thought I would share some more school books!
- Is Your Buffalo Ready for Kindergarten? by Audrey Vernick
- It’s Time for Preschool by Esmé Raji Codell
- Kindergarten Diary by Antoinette Portis
- The Kissing Hand by Audrey Penn
- Llama Llama Misses Mama by Anna Dewdney
- Maisy Goes to Preschool by Lucy Cousins
- Mouse’s First Day of School by Lauren Thompson
- Pete the Cat: Rocking In My School Shoes by Eric Litwin
- Splat the Cat by Rob Scotton
- Wemberly Worried by Kevin Henkes
- Wow! School! by Robert Neubecker
Did I forget your favorite? Let me know in the comments!
– Katie Salo
Youth Services Manager
Melrose Park Library
http://storytimekatie.com
Linda Klein
Love your list, I’ve used many of them in my “I’m Ready for Kindergarten” storytimes. I also like “The Night Before Kindergarten” by Natasha Wing and “Kindergarten Day: USA and China: A Flip-me-over book” by Trish Marx and Ellen B. Senesi.
Sarah Stippich
I also really love Mom, It’s My First Day of Kindergarten! by Hyewon Yum and First Day Jitters by Julie Danneberg.
Sondy
I was going to mention the same new book – Mom, It’s My First Day of Kindergarten!, by Hyewon Yum. http://www.sonderbooks.com/Picture_Books/mom_its_my_first_day_of_kindergarten.html
Jeanette Stickel
Thank you for the list. I am a speech therapist in the schools and I love finding appealing books to use with my students. Your list will be especially helpful for my new kindergarten students. I posted about a good back to school book on my blog yesterday.