Get the school year off to a great start with a selection of fresh and engaging picture books. Whether realistically told or delightfully over the top, these stories remind kids that first-day butterflies are perfectly normal, provide opportunities for discussing positive behavior and interactions in the classroom, and demonstrate that though problems may be encountered, they can also be surmounted.
Bright Beginnings
When Rosie Goes to Preschool (Schwartz & Wade, 2015; PreS), she invites readers to come along. With cheerful charm, the pigtail-bunned narrator places her backpack in her cubby, bids farewell to Daddy, greets Ms. Lena, and jumps right into a fun-filled day that includes circle time, art, music with Mr. Lombardo, outdoor recess, and nap time. Clothed in a rainbow of patterns and hues and representing a variety of ethnicities, the round-headed characters sparkle with individuality and personality as they interact and enjoy learning experiences. Karen Katz’s simple text, bold-colored large-size illustrations, and upbeat tone introduce basic classroom routines and make new-to-school-goers feel welcome.
Equally eye-pleasing and inviting, ABC, School’s for Me! (Scholastic, 2015; PreS-Gr 1) blends toe-tapping rhymes with a cast of cutie-pie bear cubs. From learning the “Alphabet” to “Zipping up” backpacks at day’s end, Susan B. Katz’s verses and Lynn Munsinger’s buoyant artwork present an A to Z of typical classroom activities. The pictures are filled with details that will encourage youngsters to look closer and make comparisons to their own school environment.
While many of the entries are straightforward (“Kitchen during free-choice hour,/Letter blocks that build a tower!”), some provide opportunity for discussion. For example, the spread for “Imagination,” showing bears wearing homemade “thinking cap[s]” below and representations of their imaginary musings above (a ballerina, a rocket-ship-riding astronaut, etc.), can launch a dialogue about pretend play and daydreams. Kids will appreciate the antics of the ursine characters as they jubilantly—and messily—share “Glue sticks for some glitter art,” make a “Visit to the potty, proud,” or humorously crowd together while lining up at the “Water fountain.”
It’s the first day and though Mama reassures him that “all bears love school,” a particularly reluctant little guy declares, Not This Bear (Holt, 2015; PreS-Gr 1). Alyssa Satin Capucilli’s gently reassuring text uses this phrase as a refrain as ever-anxious Bear eases into a new and stressful situation with the help of Mr. Brown, a patient and understanding teacher who allows the shy youngster to find comfort at his own pace. Hesitant to swing and slide on the playground like the other students, Bear finds a kindred spirit who also prefers to draw with chalk and blow bubbles. When Mr. Brown asks him if he’s ready to go home, the youngster proudly proclaims, “Not this bear!…School is fun!”
Lorna Hussey’s soft-hued paintings depict sweet-faced, scruffy-furred characters and a range of honest emotions as frowns gradually transform into smiles. This quiet story is as heartening as a warm hug.
Careful Preparations
Told with gleeful abandon, Alan Lawrence Sitomer’s Daddy’s Back-to-School Shopping Adventure (Hyperion, 2015; K-Gr 3) will elicit giggles from students who have just completed their own pilgrimages to eponymous store aisle, lists clutched tightly in hand. Jake, Jenny, and their parents head bravely into the fray, repeating their number-one rule: “We only buy what’s on the list.” Things go smoothly…until their mother goes to a different department. When Daddy spots the very same school-bus-shaped lunch box that he had as a boy, the primary rule is thrown out the window, and the siblings pile the cart with everything from “[s]parkly purple wet wipes” to “a musical pen holder with the entire alphabet on it except for the vowels.” Of course, the ill-gotten goods are put back when Mommy returns, but the kids do manage to bring home a special surprise for their father. Filled with funny details and fluid motion, Abby Carter’s sunny artwork perfectly matches the text’s lighthearted tone.
Monkey: Not Ready for Kindergarten (Knopf, 2015; PreS-K) focuses on the week before school and the fears and feelings of one very anxious youngster. The expressively drawn protagonist wears his worries on his face as he goes through his day, playing with blocks, eating a snack, clutching his blanket close, or imagining the worst with eyes wide: “What if his teacher doesn’t like him?…What if he can’t find the bathroom?…What if he doesn’t make new friends?” However, his family members patiently provide comfort and support (even joining in for pretend school), and a playdate with some of his soon-to-be classmates elicits smiles from Monkey. Night-before preparations include helping to make his lunch and tucking a favorite book into his backpack “to remind him of home.” The next morning, after hugs and kisses, a secret goodbye handshake, and proud words from Mommy and Daddy, Monkey is finally ready to go.
Marc Brown’s scratchy, paint-splattered, and doodle-filled illustrations have a child-like quality that perfectly matches the genuine perceptions and emotions expressed in the text. Children, whether apprehensive or eager about school, will empathize with Monkey.
The Big Day
As indicated by her preferred nickname, the protagonist of Ally-Saurus & the First Day of School (Sterling, 2015; K-Gr 2) absolutely adores dinosaurs—she wears T. rex-decorated PJs and chomps her food with “fierce teeth”—and nervously hopes there will be other dinophiles in her new class. Richard Torrey conveys Ally’s passion by embellishing his black-and-white pencil sketches of this otherwise realistically portrayed girl with back scales, swishing tail, and toe claws drawn in hot-pink crayon. Throughout the morning, outgoing Ally repeatedly and exuberantly expresses her dinosaur infatuation, and, as the other children gradually relax and reveal their own favorite things (Cindy admires dragons, Jason likes lions, and Walter loves his new lunchbox), their characters are drawn with bright-colored outlines symbolizing their passions. Though their interests differ, Ally soon discovers that the joys of shared pretend play and burgeoning friendship outweigh the specifics (she even finds common ground with a trio of at-first snooty princesses). Her discoveries about navigating classroom routines, getting along with others, and looking beyond assumptions to find new friends (and a previously undiscovered enthusiasm for bunnies) are radiantly expressed by the imagination-stirring illustrations.
Like Ally, the main character in Jessica’s Box (Kane Miller, 2015; K-Gr 2) ends up taking an unexpected path to friendship. Nervous about making friends on the first day, Jessica brings a cardboard box to school, waits until her classmates grow curious, and then reveals its contents with a dramatic, “Ta-DAAA!” She’s disappointed when the other children laugh at or seem unimpressed by her stuffed bear. Comforted by her family at home each evening, she makes two more attempts, filling the box with cupcakes (kids grab them and then disappear) and then her fluffy dog Doris (popular until the pup is returned home). The next day, feeling as though she wants to disappear, Jessica places the empty box upside down over her head. “Found you!” cries a boy, initiating a game of hide-and-seek and a friendship.
Peter Carnavas’s understated text is expanded by fluid ink-lined artwork that utilizes color to create emotional timbre. The fact that Jessica uses a wheelchair is integrated organically into the story and illustrations, placing the narrative emphasis on the girl’s feelings and the universal desire to be liked and accepted. Share and discuss this quiet story with students to nurture empathy, emphasize the importance of being one’s self, and encourage persistence when bumps in the road are encountered.
Sujean Rim’s fourth offering about a budding fashionista takes on starting-out jitters with an upbeat tone and stylish élan. Birdie’s First Day of School (Little, Brown, 2015; K-Gr 2) is tomorrow, and she’s so nervous that she can’t sleep. She’s heard both the “good” (“You will learn about EVERYTHING!”) and the “not-so-good” (“I hear your teacher, Mr. Bobbins, is half…werewolf!”), and just doesn’t know what to expect. After choosing the perfect outfit (blue-and-white striped shirt and floral A-line skirt), she walks to school with her equally chic mother, who takes a locket from her own neck and ties it around Birdie’s, saying that she and their beloved dog Monster will never be far away (tucked away inside are photos of Birdie, Mommy, and the perky-eared pooch). This thoughtful gesture works like a charm, and Birdie puts aside her fears in favor of relishing a busy and productive day with her scruffily bearded (but 100% human) teacher, spending time playing and learning, and enjoying friends old and new.
Rim sets her colorfully clothed, multi-ethnic cast of charismatic kids against crisp white backdrops, keeping the emphasis on their experiences as nervous faces gradually relax into sweet grins. Soothing sherbet hues, an amiable heroine, and an affectionate telling make for a comforting story.
Wacky and Wonderful
In Dad’s First Day (Bloomsbury, 2015; K-Gr 2), Mike Wohnoutka combines tongue-in-cheek text, exaggerated cartoon artwork, and a classic role-reversal plot to tell a tale of filled with worry, woe, and warm-hearted wit. On the big morning, it’s not young Oliver but his father who procrastinates by complaining of a tummy ache, fiddling with a puzzle, and hiding behind the couch. Eager to get to school, the smiling tow-haired boy gently nudges him along. When they arrive, Daddy’s goodbye hug looks more like a wrestling hold, and the affable yet firm teacher has to “walk” him outside (actually carry him, kicking and screaming) while Oliver, humorously unperturbed, cheerfully waves farewell. Still fretting (okay, freaking out), Oliver’s frenzied father returns to the classroom, but one look through the window at his contented son finally assuages his anxiety: “Oliver and his dad were ready for school.” This hilarious story will have young listeners chuckling and perhaps realizing that their own fears may be equally unfounded.
Jared Chapman also deploys deadpan humor and a sidesplitting scenario to convey first-day insights—and laughs. Steve, Raised by Wolves (Little, Brown, 2015; K-Gr 3)—literally—is anxious about going to school, and his lupine mom advises, “It’s not easy to get along with humans, but just be yourself.” The youngster takes her recommendation to heart, howling during attendance, pouncing on classmates, giving everyone fleas, “And then there was lunch” (the children react in horror at the dead bird Steve pulls from his brown bag).
Despite a note home from his teacher, and mom’s suggestion that he try to get along with others, the next day is not much better: Steve eats another kid’s homework, “mark[s] his territory on the playground” (the illustration is just discrete enough), and drinks from the toilet bowel. However, with mom’s patient encouragement, a bit of soul-searching, and a flea bath, Steve eventually finds balance, becoming “part of the pack at school” while still retaining his individuality. The vibrant cartoons are packed with visual high jinx. Whether depicting Steve’s elation as he performs wolfish acts or his classmates’ consternation, the characters’ emotions are broadcasted by their ink-lined features and comically expressive body language.
Matthew McElligott’s Mad Scientist Academy: The Dinosaur Disaster (Crown, 2015; K-Gr 4) stars six unusual students—including a werewolf named Wolfgang, Nicole the robot, and Frankenstein—esque Ken—and their somewhat absent-minded, always encouraging, and completely green-skinned teacher. It’s the first day, and Dr. Cosmic, adorned in goggles and lab coat, tasks his pupils with solving a puzzle hidden away in the robotic dinosaur exhibit he has just built while he goes off in search of the missing school pet. The youngsters must use their “Mad Scientist handbooks” (card-size squares that unfold into an impressive array of information screens, tools, and gadgets), their distinctive abilities (swamp-monster Tad utilizes his chameleon-like tongue to snag a difficult-to-reach sheet of paper), and their best reasoning skills to complete the assignment—and remain safe when the life-size dinos go haywire.
Dynamic comic-book-style artwork and dialogue balloons abound with verbal and visual quips, sometimes exploding to full- or double-page images as a triceratops bursts through a wall or a T. rex runs wild. Dinosaur facts are smoothly integrated into the madcap action. Though their first-day experiences might be a bit of the beaten path, Dr. Cosmic’s charges finish the morning with an excitement and enthusiasm for learning, celebrating an attitude that more traditional (and less green) teachers in classrooms across the country engender in their students every day.