Back-to-school picture book recommendations are by Angela Ferraris, The Retired School Librarian.
(As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. The content below contains Amazon affiliate links. When you buy through these links, Mrs. Ferraris may earn an affiliate commission at no additional cost to you. The Retired School Librarian is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program. (These titles can be found on my Amazon Storefront under Back-to-School Picture Books–https://www.amazon.com/shop/mrs.ferraris/list/3IKAES8MXMX7I?ref_=aipsflist.)
❗This cumulative list grows over time, with the newest books always appearing at the top.❗
Welcome to Our Classroom!
by Alexandra Penfold (Author), Suzanne Kaufman (Illustrator)
Summary: A teacher reassures her new students that they are welcome in the classroom, where they will learn many things by working together, listening, and sharing.
Comments: This is a positive, comforting story for students who may be concerned about not fitting in. I love how there are so many diverse illustrations of students.
Rating: 4/5 🟩🟩🟩🟩
Details and buying options are on this book’s Amazon page (paid link).
Fish Don’t Go to School
by Deb Pilutti (Author)
Summary: Henry wears his fish costume to school because it makes him feel safe and less anxious. Although everyone stares at him, as the day goes on, Henry slowly feels more comfortable. Will he continue to wear his costume every day?
Comments: I think this would be a good book to read aloud to help those students who feel insecure at the beginning of the school year.
I remember several students dressing in Halloween costumes or like ballerinas at the beginning of the school year and gradually shedding their fears as they got to know everyone in the classroom and the daily routine.
The illustrations were created with gouache and wax pastels on watercolor paper with a little digital painting.
Rating: 4/5 🟩🟩🟩🟩
Details and buying options are on this book’s Amazon page (paid link).
Big Kids
by K. L. Going (Author), Reggie Brown (Illustrator)
Summary: A young boy describes his first day of school, highlighting all the activities the older kids participate in. It’s Buddy Day, when he gets paired with an older student. His new friend takes him on a tour of the school, helping to ease his fears of the older students.
Comments: I love how the perspective of the big kids and little kids is complemented by the illustrations, which show the physical contrasts.
This would be the perfect read-aloud for the start of the school year, just before introducing the buddy system. We paired kindergartners with fifth graders.
Rating: 4.5/5 🟩🟩🟩🟩1/2
Details and buying options are on this book’s Amazon page (paid link).
Fall Is for Beginnings
by Rajani LaRocca (Author), Abhi Alwar (Illustrator)
Summary: Fall is for new beginnings. Ravi arrives on the first day and sits next to his best friend, Joe. A new girl, Ellie, sits on the other side of him and introduces herself. The three do many activities together, and Ellie believes they are best friends, but Ravi blurts out that they are not, which hurts Ellie’s feelings. Anita, Ravi’s older sister, helps him out.
Comments: This is a wonderful read-aloud for the beginning of the school year when new friendships are made.
Rating: 4/5 🟩🟩🟩🟩
Details and buying options are on this book’s Amazon page (paid link).
I Am Extraordinary
by Stephen Curry (Author), Geneva Bowers (Illustrator)
Summary: Zoe wants to try out for the school’s soccer team on the first day of school but is self-conscious about her hearing aids. Her family and friends encourage Zoe to go onto the field and do her best.
Comments: This would be a good book to share to help students overcome first-day jitters, build self-esteem, and develop a growth mindset.
Rating: 4/5 🟩🟩🟩🟩
Details and buying options are on this book’s Amazon page (paid link).
The First Week of School
by Drew Beckmeyer
Summary: It is the first week of school and each day Pat, the bearded dragon, observes the students. There is one desk empty waiting for a new, unique student to arrive.
Comments: Readers will enjoy going through the week relating to the different subjects and events. I like when the reader knows the mystery of what’s happening around the characters before the characters in the story do. Well, the bearded dragon knows, too.
This would make a fun read-aloud for the beginning of the school year.
The illustrations were created with crayon.
Rating: 4.5/5 🟩🟩🟩🟩1/2
Details and buying options are on this book’s Amazon page (paid link).
Sammy and Sunny’s First Day of School
by Nina LaCour (Author), Elizabeth Lilly (Illustrator)
Summary: Sammy and her dog, Sunny, both attend their first day of school. Sammy is dropped off at her kindergarten classroom, while Sunny goes to puppy school.
Readers see how their days parallel each other. They are both a bit nervous at first, but soon learn the routine and make friends.
Comments: The contrast between human kindergarten and puppy training can be introduced as a classroom activity comparing and contrasting of Sammy’s day and Sunny’s day using Venn diagram.
The illustrations were created with pen and ink and painted with watercolor.
Rating: 4/5 🟩🟩🟩🟩
Details and buying options are on this book’s Amazon page (paid link).
First Day, Hooray!
by June Sobel (Author), Nabila Adani (Illustrator)
Summary: This rhyming story begins on the first day with students experiencing many emotions throughout the day. They are reassured that these emotions are normal.
Comments: This is a wonderful read-aloud book for preschoolers and kindergartners going to school for the very first time.
The rhyming and rhythmic text make it easy to understand.
My favorite repetitive line is “Take a breath. Breathe in. Breathe out” and can serve as a stopping point for the teacher to demonstrate and have the students participate.
I think this would be a beneficial book for parents to read with their child before school begins and to talk about any emotions they may have or will have and how to handle those feelings.
Rating: 4/5 🟩🟩🟩🟩
Details and buying options are on this book’s Amazon page (paid link).
Mr. S: A First Day of School Book
by Monica Arnaldo (Author, Illustrator).
Brief summary: The kindergartners of 2B arrive on the first day of school to find their teacher missing. Their first clue is that the desk has a ruler, a steaming cup of coffee, and a giant sandwich. They notice “Mr. S” has been written on the chalkboard. They wonder if their teacher could be Mr. Sandwich.
They continue their day doing school-related activities without the supervision of an adult. Suddenly, the door opens, and a man hurries into the classroom. Is this their teacher?
Comments: This is one of my favorite back-to-school books. Great mystery. A subplot is also going on in the window frame throughout the story. Clever. Well done.
Rating: 5/5 📗📗📗📗📗
Details and buying options are on this book’s Amazon page (paid link).
9 Kilometers (Stories from Latin America)
by Claudio Aguilera (Author), Gariela Lyon (Illustrator), Lawrence Schimel (Translator)
Brief summary: A young Chilean student begins his nine-kilometer walk to school in the darkness of dawn while counting his steps and the animals he sees along the way.
Young readers will follow his journey as he goes under a barbed-wire fence, through a forest, across a river, etc., until he finally arrives at school.
Comments: This book could spark some interesting classroom conversations. What was the longest you’ve ever walked? How much is a kilometer? Why did the boy walk so far? Why didn’t a yellow school bus take him? Was it essential for him to go to school? Dangerous?
The back of the book has brief stories of other children worldwide and how they walk to their schools. There is also a section on the birds seen during the boy’s walk.
The front endpapers have a map of the beginning of the walk, which continues onto the back endpapers.
Rating: 4.5 📗📗📗📗1/2
Details and buying options are on this book’s Amazon page (paid link).
Translated and printed to English in 2023.
Marker
by Anna Kang (Author), Christopher Weyant (Illustrator)
Brief summary: Red Pen welcomes the school supplies as they get ready for the first day of school. Pinking Shears is accepted as a new member and is placed in the superpower mug on the desk, displacing Permanent Marker to a canister. The supplies are creating back-to-school posters and lists when Marker, who is always used for the class rules poster, makes a mistake but cannot fix it, causing her anxiety as everyone will see it day after day. Will Red Pen come up with an idea to help everyone realize it’s okay to fail?
Comments: What a fun read for the beginning of the school year. Cute illustrations and a humorous storyline will help students with any first-day jitters. I’ll never look at the supplies on my desk the same way again.
Rating: 3.5/5 📗📗📗 1/2
Details and buying options are on this book’s Amazon page (paid link).
If you like this book, you may also enjoy Anna Kang’s Eraser, published in 2018.
Shy Robin and the First Day of School
by Jaime Kim (Author, Illustrator)
Brief summary: Robin is usually brave and energetic at home but not in public. Her mother gives her a purple headband on the first day of school to help her feel confident.
While at school, Robin notices a classmate, Marco, who is also shy and withdrawn and wears purple bracelets. When Robin temporarily loses her headband, Marco offers her one of his bracelets while they look for the hair accessory.
Comments: This would be a reassuring back-to-school story to share with preschoolers and kindergartners to help normalize feeling shy and show how small acts of kindness can build new friendships.
Rating: 3.5/5 📗📗📗1/2
Details and buying options are on this book’s Amazon page (paid link).ge.
We’re Going to School
by Tammi Salzano (Author), Morena Forza (Illustrator)
Summary: Young readers will follow various children as they wake up early and prepare to return to school. Once inside the school, the day begins with introductions, new routines, and friend-making.
Comments: This book would be a great pick for preschoolers or kindergartners who have never been to school to get a general idea of what happens on the first day.
Rating: 3.5/5 📗📗📗1/2
Details and buying options are on this book’s Amazon page (paid link).
Giant-Sized Butterflies On My First Day of School
by Justin Roberts (Author), Paola Escobar (Illustrator)
Brief summary: A young girl has a nervous stomach about going back to school and is reassured by her mother that everything will be okay. The mother shares a time when she had butterflies in her stomach and how she let them go.
Comments: Teachers and parents can share this book with students on the first day of school to reassure them that it is normal to feel nervous when starting something new.
Rating: 3.5/5 📗📗📗1/2
Details and buying options are on this book’s Amazon page (paid link).
Mina Belongs Here
by Sandra Niebuhr-Siebert (Author), Lars Baus (Illustrator)
Brief summary: When Mina starts kindergarten in a new country, she feels lost and is quiet because she doesn’t understand the language. Over time, she develops friendships and becomes more confident as she learns new words.
Comments: This thoughtful picture book is a teaching tool for building empathy toward English language learners and showing how kindness and friendship overcome language barriers.
This German translation from 2020 was published in the USA in 2023.
Rating: 3.5/5 📗📗📗1/2
Details and buying options are on this book’s Amazon page (paid link)..
Back to School, Backpack!
by Simon Rich (Author), Tom Toro (Illustrator)
Brief summary: A backpack heading to school has the first day jitters, but it soon fits in to the new environment.
Comments: This is a cute and humorous read-aloud for the first day or week of school to help ease students’ nervousness.
Rating: 3.5/5 📗📗📗1/2
Details and buying options are on this book’s Amazon page (paid link).
And Then Comes School
by Tom Brenner (Author), Jen Hill (Illustrator)
Summary: Children experience the last days of August, moving from playing together in the summer heat to preparing for the first day of school.
Comments: This is a nice read-aloud that shares the rituals that lead to back-to-school time. Students could share what traditions they do as a family to prepare for the first day of school.
Rating: 4/5 📗📗📗📗
Continue reading for more details and buying options on this book’s Details and buying options are on this book’s Amazon page (paid link).
Llama Llama Back to School
by Anna Dewdney (Author), Reed Duncan (Author), JT Morrow (Illustrator)
Brief summary: Llama Llama and his friends wind down the summer and get ready to go back to school. He is excited to go shopping with his mama and prepare for the new year. He has a wonderful time once he returns to school.
Comments: I love the rhyming and positivity of this book. This is a comforting read-aloud for preschoolers and kindergartners with back-to-school jitters.
Rating: 4/5 📗📗📗📗
Details and buying options are on this book’s Amazon page (paid link).
First Day of School
by Esther van den Berg (Author, Illustrator)
Summary: Robin is being taken to school by his mom. They walk to the school in a tree where his mother drops him off. He plays with the other little forest animals, eats lunch, and attends gym class and art class before it is time for his mom to pick him up.
Comments: This is a cute preschool or kindergarten read-aloud that offers reassurance to children who may have separation anxiety or first-day jitters.
Rating: 4/5 🟩🟩🟩🟩
Details and buying options are on this book’s Amazon page (paid link).
How to Get Your Teacher Ready
by Jean Reagan (Author), Lee Wildish (Author)
Summary: A group of students give advice on how to get their teacher ready for school by explaining all the subjects, milestones, and events throughout the year.
Comments: This funny role-reversal picture book is a fantastic back-to-school read-aloud. This could encourage discussion about classroom routines and teamwork throughout the upcoming year.
Rating: 4/5 🟩🟩🟩🟩
Details and buying options are on this book’s Amazon page (paid link).
I Got the School Spirit
by Connie Schofield-Morrison (Author), Frank Morrison (Illustrator)
Summary: An excited and positive girl embraces the first day of school, spreading her confidence to her classmates.
Comments: This high-energy illustrated picture book would be a superb first-day-of- school share for preschool through primary students to get them into the school spirit.
Rating: 5/5 🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩
Details and buying options are on this book’s Amazon page (paid link).
The Pigeon HAS to Go to School!
by Mo Willems
Summary: The Pigeon has worries about going to school and comes up with many reasons why he shouldn’t go.
Comments: This would be a funny first-day-of school read-aloud to help students laugh and relax and relate to the Pigeon.
Rating: 4/5 🟩🟩🟩🟩
Details and buying options are on this book’s Amazon page (paid link).
This book is part of the Pigeon series.
Butterflies on the First Day of School
by Annie Silvestro (Author), Dream Chen (Illustrator)
Summary: Rosie is excited to start school but starts experiencing butterflies. She sits on the bus with a girl named Violet and feels calmer. Throughout the day, she begins to enjoy her school day and even makes friends.
Comments: The book visualizes a common idiom(butterflies in your stomach) through its illustrations to help nervous students see how the butterflies fly away as they become more confident and comfortable.
Rating: 4/5 🟩🟩🟩🟩
Details and buying options are on this book’s Amazon page (paid link)..
School’s First Day of School
by Adam Rex (Author), Christian Robinson (Illustrator)
Summary: A new school building is built over the summer and named “Frederick Douglass Elementary.” School talks to the janitor and learns that teachers and students will soon come. School watches everyone on the first day, not sure if he likes them or not as he talks with the janitor at the end of the day.
Comments: This is one of my favorite first-day-of-school read-alouds I shared with my students. It is a great mentor text for perspectives, personification, and anthropomorphism.
Rating: 5/5 🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩
Details and buying options are on this book’s Amazon page (paid link).
This School Year Will Be the BEST!
by Kay Winters (Author), Renee Andriani (Illustrator)
Summary: On the first day of school, during circle time, a teacher asks, “What do you hope will happen this year?” The students answer with everything from everyday goals to imaginative dreams.
Comments: This is the perfect book to share during the first week of school for a fun discussion, which can be followed by having students write their hopes and illustrating them.
Rating: 4/5 🟩🟩🟩🟩
Details and buying options are on this book’s Amazon page (paid link).
Back-to-School Rules
by Laurie Friedman (Author), Teresa Murfin (Illustrator)
Summary: Percy Isaac Gifford shares ten funny rules to help students get through the school year smoothly.
Comments: This rhyming book can be shared by teachers as a launchpad for a classroom discussion on establishing classroom rules. I would read it as a read-aloud, making sure to share the hilarious illustrations, and then have students brainstorm rules either as a class or individually for a writing and sharing activity.
Rating: 4/5 🟩🟩🟩🟩
Details and buying options are on this book’s Amazon page (paid link).
First Day Jitters
by Julie Danneberg (Author), Judy Love (Illustrator)
Summary: Sarah Jane Hartwell does not want to go to school and hides under the covers. After trying to coax her out of bed, she is told she has five minutes to be dressed and downstairs ready to go. Upon arrival, she is greeted by the principal and taken to her classroom.
Comments: Students will relate to the first-day jitters and love how the story ends. It’s an empathetic book that reassures readers that feeling anxious about the first day is natural.
Rating: 4.5/5 🟩🟩🟩🟩1/2
Details and buying options are on this book’s Amazon page (paid link).
Froggy Goes to School
by Jonathan London (Author), Frank Remkiewicz (Illustrator)
Summary: Froggy has first-day-of-school nightmares until his dad wakes him up. He gets ready and goes to school, denying that he is nervous even though he experiences one mishap after another. Through it all, he stays positive and has a good day.
Comments: This book is thirty years old and still connecting with kids today. My students loved when I read this aloud. I would holler “FRRROOGGYY!” and then they would holler back “Wha-a-a-a-t?”
Rating: 4.5/5 🟩🟩🟩🟩1/2
Details and buying options are on this book’s Amazon page (paid link).
The selected children’s books are chosen by a certified, retired elementary school librarian who passionately reads and recommends picture books to teachers, school librarians, parents, grandparents, and other book enthusiasts.
Most of the books Mrs. Ferraris recommends are checked out from the public library. The only exception is for the complimentary copies that she receives for an honest review, which are duly noted.