As you plan for the First Day of School for your kids, you can include these fun first day of school themed books. Get those kids excited and comforted for a great school year!
Hard to believe that we will be seeing “First Day of School” photos in just a few weeks here in Colorado. I know some of you have already had the kids off at school for the new school year. Didn’t summer just start? We are blessed with kiddos that absolutely love going to school and have been asking when they get to go back for a few weeks now but I know there are times that kids get nervous, anxious and worried with the idea of heading back to the classroom.
13 First Day Of School Books You Will Love
You have probably noticed that we love books in our family so I decided to pick up some fun First Day of School themed books at the library to get the kids even more excited and prepared for heading back to school. I think you will enjoy these books as well. Sit down with the kids and take some time enjoying the last few days of summer break with some great books.
The Pigeon HAS to go to School by Mo Willems:
We love this Pigeon!! Why does the Pigeon have to go to school? He already knows everything! And what if he doesn’t like it? What if the teacher doesn’t like him? What if he learns TOO MUCH!?! Ask not for whom the school bell rings; it rings for the Pigeon!
Purchase The Pigeon HAS to go To School.
Monsters Love School by Mike Austin:
Celebrate the first day of school with hilarious, energetic monsters in Monsters Love School by author-illustrator Mike Austin.
Summer is over, and now it’s time for the biggest adventure of all…Monster School! Join these colorful monsters as they go to school for the first time. Reading and writing and learning your monster history has never been so much fun!
Purchase Monsters Love School.
This School Year Will Be The Best! by Kay Winters:
On the first day of school, new classmates are asked to share what they would most like to happen in the upcoming year. Some kids’ hopes are familiar while others are off-the-wall. Whether it’s looking good on picture day or skateboarding at school, everyone’s wishes are shown in humorously exaggerated illustrations. As the first day draws to a close, there can be no doubt—this school year will definitely be the best!
Purchase This School Year Will be The Best!
School’s First Day of School by Adam Rex:
It’s the first day of school at Frederick Douglass Elementary and everyone’s just a little bit nervous, especially the school itself. What will the children do once they come? Will they like the school? Will they be nice to him?
The school has a rough start, but as the day goes on, he soon recovers when he sees that he’s not the only one going through first-day jitters.
Purchase School’s First Day of School.
We Don’t Eat Our Classmates by Ryan T. Higgins:
It’s the first day of school for Penelope Rex, and she can’t wait to meet her classmates. But it’s hard to make human friends when they’re so darn delicious! That is, until Penelope gets a taste of her own medicine and finds she may not be at the top of the food chain after all. . . .
Purchase We Don’t Eat Our Classmates.
Brand New Pencils, Brand New Books by Diane deGroat:
It’s the first day of first grade! Gilbert is looking forward to learning how to read and making new friends, but . . .
Will the teacher be nice?
Will first grade be too hard?
Will he like his classmates?
Will they like him?
Gilbert is excited and nervous at the same time!
Purchase Brand New Pencils, Brand New Books.
The Berenstain Bears Go to School:
Come for a visit in Bear Country with this classic First Time Book® from Stan and Jan Berenstain. All the cubs in Bear Country are ready for the new school year . . . except for Sister Bear. She is about to start kindergarten, but can’t stop worrying about what it will be like. Will her teacher be nice? Will she make friends? What will she do all day in class?
Purchase The Berenstain Bears Go To School.
It’s Back To School We Go!: First Day Stories from Around The World by Ellen Jackson:
The first day of school is an event that brings mixed emotions to children everywhere. There is excitement in seeing old friends and it’s nice to begin a new year with a new teacher and good intentions. But first day feelings are mixed. Will last year’s friends still be friends? What if the new teacher doesn’t like me? Or what if the work is too hard?
Ellen Jackson and Jan Davey Ellis portray children from eleven different countries experiencing their first day back at school. Each child’s first-person acount is enhanced by a fact box that tells us something about the culture from which the child speaks, so that the reader is able to compare and contrast the experiences of children from different parts of the world. In words and pictures the author and artist have captured the diversity of children’s school experiences, while at the same time capturing how much the world’s children have in common.
Purchase It’s Back To School We Go!: First Day Stories from Around The World.
Back to School Tortoise by Lucy M. George:
It’s time to go back to school. But Tortoise is worried. What if he falls down? What if he doesn’t like lunch? What if the kids are mean to him? What if he falls down, doesn’t like lunch, and the kids are mean to him? The perfect back-to-school book about being brave, with a surprise at the end!
Purchase Back to School Tortoise.
Mae’s First Day of School by Kate Berube:
As Mae’s first day of school approaches she decides she IS. NOT. GOING. School is scary! What if the other kids don’t like her? Or what if she’s the only one who doesn’t know how to write? Or what if she misses her mom? Mae’s anxiety only builds as she walks to school. But then she meets Rosie and Ms. Pearl. Will making new friends show her that they can conquer their fears together?
Purchase Mae’s First Day of School.
Splat the Cat: Back to School, Splat! by Rob Scotton:
It’s the first day of school and there’s only time for Splat to share one of his summer adventures with the class. Will it be the time he went searching for pirate treasure? Or the time he went swimming with sharks in the ocean? But before the end of the day, Splat knows exactly what to talk about—and it’s the biggest surprise of all!
Purchase Splat the Cat: Back to School, Splat! .
Back-to-School Rules by Laurie Friedman:
School’s in session! When it comes to surviving school, Percy’s at the head of the class. If you can follow his ten simple rules, making the grade will be a piece of cake (and school will be a lot of fun). But there’s more to school than showing up on time and staying awake in class. If you have any doubts, Percy also shows exactly what not to do.
• No spitballs!
• No running in the halls!
• No bouncing off the ceiling!
• No crazy scheming!
See what other trouble―and tips―Percy has in mind!
Purchase Back-to-School Rules.
My Weird School Special: Back to School, Weird Kids Rule!
by Dan Gutman:
Summer is almost over, and you know what that means—time to head back to school! But when a tropical storm ends A.J.’s vacation earlier than expected, he and his family have to stay at Andrea’s house. Ugh, disgusting!
Soon after, everyone in the house starts getting cabin fever, and even back-to-school shopping won’t calm the kids down. So, Andrea and A.J. are sent to Camp Ockatollyquay. The catch? It’s a camp to get kids ready for school! But not to worry—Andrea and A.J. rally their Ella Mentry School friends to end their summer on a note they’ll never forget.
Purchase My Weird School Special: Back to School, Weird Kids Rule!
We loved the “We Don’t Eat Our Classmates” and “The Pigeon HAS To Go To School” so much that we decided to stop at the bookstore so we could add them both to our home libraries. As we countdown to the First Day of School you better believe that both Jude and Teagan will enjoy reading these books.
What are you favorite First Day of School books to read with your kids?
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This post was originally published on August 1, 2019 and updated on August 4, 2021.
