Back to School

The time has come....to talk about our new "back to school" books. Every summer, I order a handful of new picture books about school. We have some fun books perfect for new students and old pros.





Kindergators: Hands Off, Harry!

Harry is not having a good day at kindergarten. It seems that Harry has a hard time remembering to respect his classmates's personal spaces. How will Harry learn to keep his hands to himself and not tackle anyone? This is a cute story (featuring alligators as the characters) about a very common issue with young children. Hands Off, Harry is the first in a series by Rosemary Wells; looking forward to the forthcoming books!




Follow the Line to School

I *love* Laura Ljungkvist's Follow the Line books. They are very awesome. In Follow the Line To School, we follow the line through the many different places in a school. The first room we enter is the classroom: "Say hello! Hello! Hello to your friends and go to your classroom. Fred is the class pet. Can you guess what kind of animal he is? Look at the alphabet chart. What letter does your name start with? What sport would you play with the ball in this room?" We follow the line to the science corner, the library, the art room, back to the classroom, to the cafeteria, the playground, the math area, the music room, back to the classroom, and finally, out the door: "Follow the line out the door, because it's time to go...HOME! It's so much fun to learn new THINGS. I wonder what...TOMORROW brings."

You really need to see this to appreciate it. Just grade A, 100% perfect for sharing with a kindergartner on your lap and interacting with the book.





First Day of School

Most first day of school books are centered around a small child's actual first day of school, and all drama and happiness that comes with it. Of course, everyone who attended school knows that every first day of school, no matter if you are a kindergarten student or a college student, is fraught with excitement and no small amount of nervousness. The children in Anne Rockwell's First Day of School play together at the park during one of the last days of summer. They talk about getting ready for school (new haircut, shopping for backpacks and school supplies), hoping that they'll be in each other's class, and about last year's first day of school, now that they are older and wiser about such things. Dad takes the unnamed star of the story shoe shopping, where he meets his teacher from last year.

The last day of school is finally here; new teacher, new supplies, and an old friend in the classroom. Awwww. A sweet, realistic, and multicultural story (yeah!). Love it.