5 Great Reads for Back to School Season

Sending the kids back to school can give you ALL the feels as a parent. Excitement about the return to a more consistent routine at home, sorrow about the end of magical summer evenings, nervousness about whether your child will have a great year…

These five engaging books are perfect for reading to your little ones who are starting at a new school or just getting to know a new teacher or classmates. I personally own every one of them, and I have used them both as a parent and as a teacher. Let’s dive in!

Brave Every Day by Trudy Ludwig

This beautiful story introduces us to Camila, a girl who only wants to hide rather than join in a game of hide and seek. She is very shy and gets nervous in many different settings—in her classroom, in her bedroom at night, at reading time, etc. As her class prepares for a field trip to the aquarium, her nervousness keeps building. When she finds a quiet place to hide for a moment at the aquarium, she realizes that the space is already taken by her classmate Kai. Despite her own nervousness, she decides to be brave for Kai, and together they explore what the aquarium has to offer.

While not your typical first day of school book, this one has some great lessons about resilience and bravery that so many kids need to hear at the beginning of a new school year. It is ok to be scared. But, in the immortal words of Winnie the Pooh, “You’re braver than you believe, stronger than you seem, and smarter than you think.”

Chrysanthemum by Kevin Henkes

Many kids will hear this story read to them in the first few weeks of school in kindergarten and first grade, but that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t also read it at home. This beginning of the school year classic tells the story of a young mouse named Chrysanthemum who loves her name and knows that it is absolutely perfect…until she goes to school. A group of unkind female classmates make endless fun of her for having such a unique (and strange to them) name. She begins to hate her name and school until everyone’s favorite music teacher, who just happens to be expecting a baby girl, tells the class that she loves the name Chrysanthemum and is considering it for her daughter. Plot twist! Chrysanthemum once again loves her name and knows that it is absolutely perfect.

This charming story is great for any kids feeling nervous about being made fun of for something. It is equally great for discussing the importance of kindness with any kids who may tend toward being the bully. (I know, I know. Your child and my child would NEVER say or do anything unkind…except that all children do because they are all still learning.) If you don’t have this one on your bookshelf yet, I highly recommend that you add it.

The Kissing Hand by Audrey Penn

The Kissing Hand is especially good for kids (and their parents) who are starting at a new preschool or going off to kindergarten. Chester Raccoon is nervous about leaving his mom and going to school, so his mother teaches him about the kissing hand. When she kisses his hand, her loves travels up his arm into his heart, where he can carry it with him all night (since he is a raccoon and goes to school at night).

This is a heartwarming story and a good reminder for kids and parents that our love for one another is strong enough to be felt when we are separated from one another.

The Art Lesson by Tomie dePaola

Little Tommy wants to be an artist when he grows up. He has been looking forward to school because he knows he will be able to go to art class and learn how to be one. When the day of his first art class finally arrives, Tommy is appalled to learn that they will be copying what their teacher shows them how to do on the board. As we all know, artists do NOT copy. They create!

I love this book because of the way the author shows us Tommy’s excitement, disappointment, and eventual joy in equal measure. There are also some wonderful teachers featured in this book who take the time to really listen to what little Tommy has to say.

Have You Filled a Bucket Today?: A Guide to Daily Happiness for Kids by Carol McCloud

This is another classic that you may see or read about from your child’s school. In it, we learn that everyone in the whole world carries around an invisible bucket. Everything we do is either filling up or dipping into someone else’s bucket.

I have found both with my own children and with my former students that this truly is a guide to daily happiness for kids. They can clearly understand the idea of a bucket that gets filled up or dipped into by what others do. The book goes on to suggest ways that kids can fill people’s buckets throughout their day. If you don’t have this one on your bookshelf yet, you should.

This post may contain affiliate links. If you click the links and make a purchase, I may make a small commission. Thank you for supporting the blog.