Back to School Books

Beginning school can be a scary experience for your little one. Here is a list of books that you may find helpful. Books are located in the Parent/Toddler section of the Children’s Department alphabetically by the first letter of the author’s last name unless otherwise noted. Please ask the Children’s Librarian for assistance in finding the exact location of the books.

Bourgeois, Paulette Franklin Goes to School
Franklin is nervous about the first day of school, but his teacher, Mr. Owl, knows just what to do.

Capucilli, Alyssa Biscuit Goes to School
School looks like so much fun! Biscuit wants to go to school and meet the teacher—but dogs don’t go to school! What will the teacher do when Biscuit sneaks in anyway? (J Rea 1 Cap)

Danneberg, Julie First Day Jitters
The first day of school is scary for everyone, even the teacher who is new to the school. Children may be surprised to see that even adults get nervous sometimes.

Goodman, Joan Elizabeth Bernard Goes to School
On Bernard’s first day of school, he is only interested in going home, while the rest of his family finds joy in the blocks, paints and dolls to which he pays no attention until he makes a new friend.

Harper, Jessica Place Called Kindergarten, A
Wondering why their friend Tommy has not come to the barn at his usual time, the animals become alarmed when the dog tells them that he has gone to a place called "Kindergarten."

Hest, Amy Off to School, Baby Duck
It is Baby Duck's first day of school and she is scared. She likes all the new important things in her book bag, but what if her teacher is mean or she doesn't have any fun or make any friends? Luckily, Grampa knows just what to say and do. And Baby Duck feels much braver after she meets her teacher and makes a new friend.

London, Jonathan Froggy Goes to School
Froggy is nervous about his first day of school. First, he has a nightmare about the first day of school. On the morning of the first day, he is so nervous he has trouble pouring milk on his bowl of flies. At school he must learn to keep his voice down and pay attention. And he leaves his lunch box at school. His mom says, "Oh Froggy. Will you ever learn?" He replies "That's why I'm going to school, Mom!"

McGhee, Alison Countdown to Kindergarten
Ten days before the start of kindergarten, a pre-kindergartner cannot tie her shoes by herself and fears the worst.

McQuade, Jacqueline At Preschool with Teddy Bear
It is off to school with Teddy Bear. He is excited about learning new things and meeting new friends. (ABC cube)

Pak, Soyung Sumi’s First Day of School Ever
When Sumi first arrives at school on her first day, she thinks that school is a lonely, scary, mean place. For Sumi, the first day is extra hard because she doesn’t know the same language as everyone else. But with some help from a kind teacher and the fortunate acquaintance of a friendly girl at recess, Sumi realizes that school isn’t as lonely, scary or mean as she thought.

Poydar, Nancy First Day, Hooray!
Kindergartener Ivy Green can’t wait for school to begin tomorrow, but she’s also a little worried. What if she misses her bus? How will she find her classroom? Readers will discover that not only does Ivy anticipate the first day of school, but so do her teacher, the janitor and even her principal. They are all scrambling to prepare for the first day of school.

Rockwell, Anne Welcome to Kindergarten
Tim visits his future kindergarten class and learns what he will be doing during his first year of schoool. The classroom may seem a little big at first, but after finding out about all the fun things he'll learn, it doesn't seem so big at all. In fact, maybe it's just the right size.

Rosenberry, Vera Vera's First Day of School
Vera is looking forward to her first day of school. When the day finally arrives, she is bursting with excitement, until she sees all the children in the school yard. She becomes frightened and runs home. Vera's mom walks her back to school and Vera discovers school isn't as scary as she thought and decides she will like the second day much better.

Rouillard, Wendy Barnaby Goes to School
Barnaby loves to explore. But the new challenge of the first day of school lies ahead and Barnaby isn’t sure he is ready. Soon he learns that school is the greatest adventure of all!

Scotten, Rob Splat the Cat
A nervous Splat finds his first day at Cat School much better than he expected.

Slate, Joseph Miss Bindergarten Gets Ready for Kindergarten
Miss Bindergarten and her students get ready for the first day of kindergarten. The children are introduced alphabetically as they appear. This is a fun way to learn the alphabet and also learn about the first day of school from both students' and teacher's perspective.

Thompson, Lauren Mouse’s First Day of School
Mouse hides in a child’s backpack and discovers all the fun to be had in a kindergarten classroom full of books, paints, blocks and more.

Wells, Rosemary Timothy Goes to School
Timothy is excited about the first day of school until he meets Claude. Not only is Claude the smartest and the best at everything, but he also wears all the right clothes and has all the friends. Timothy can’t stand it! But when Timothy meets Violet he learns that he’s not alone after all.(Also available in audio CD/BK 018)

Woodruff, Elvira A Dragon in My Backpack
Bumps the toy dragon helps his friend Ben deal with his first day of kindergarten apprehension in this back to school adventure. (JEPB W)