It’s back to school time! Some of you are excited, and some of you are not. I know this because I happened to be on the road during the first-day-of-school morning commute while multiple busloads of students rolled out of local neighborhoods.
Judging by the little faces staring out he bus windows, I could tell that this was not a happy day for all. It has been many, many years since I had to deal with the start of a new school year, but trust me, all the anticipation (and anxiety) that goes with the experience rushed back as soon as I glimpsed those faces.
Along with the start of a new school year comes a regular push from publishers for going-back-to-school titles. I like to celebrate newly published school-themed picture books in early September for a couple of reasons. Leaving the comfort and familiarity of home to attend school is a really big deal for little ones, and one of the ways to make the experience less scary is to read books about it. And then there’s something that I like to call the adorability factor. Take one look at today’s reading list and you’ll find a cast of adorable characters including a unicorn, llama, chicken and dragon all sharing a variety of back-to-school adventures. What’s not to love about that?
- “First Day of Unicorn School” written by Jess Hernandez, illustrated by Mariano Epelbaum.
- “Llama Llama Back to School” written by Reed Duncan, illustrated by J.T. Morrow.
- “Principal Tate is Running Late!” written and illustrated by Henry Cole.
- “Ring, Ring, Click, Clack: Sounds from School” written by Jennifer Shand, illustrated by Barbara Vagnozzi.
- “School is Cool!” written by Sabrina Moyle, illustrated by Eunice Moyle.
- “Too Shy to Say Hi” written by Shannon Anderson, illustrated by Hiroe Nakata.
- “When a Dragon Goes to School” written by Caryl Hart, illustrated by Rosalind Beardshaw.
Jan Johnston is the collection development coordinator for the Fort Vancouver Regional Libraries. Email her at readingforfun@fvrl.org.
