CHILDREN'S LITERATURE ASSEMBLY
  • Home
  • Join/Donate
  • Members Only
  • Journal
  • Notables
  • Grants & Awards
  • Resources
  • CLA @ NCTE
  • About
  • CLA Blog

The CLA Blog

Back to School Books

8/23/2022

 

By Susan Polos

At the beginning of each school year, teachers flock to public and school libraries in search of familiar or new back-to-school books to read to classes as they welcome students to a new school year. There is no shortage of titles from which to choose. Typical displays in most libraries showcase dozens of choices. Many picture book series feature a well-known character going back to school. Froggy, the Pigeon, the Pout-Pout Fish, Llama Llama and Lola are just a few familiar characters who face their fears and find that school is a happy place. ​
School itself may be the focus of the read-aloud. This Is a School by John Schu, illustrated by Veronica Miller Jamison, lets children know that school is not just a place but is also a collection of people, grown up and young, whose diverse identities enrich the process of learning. School’s First Day of School by Adam Rex, illustrated by Christian Robison, turns the perspective from the student experience to the experience of the personified school building, which is happy when children are happy and playfully squirts water from the water fountain in the face of a child who has something negative to say about school. 
Book cover: This is a School
Book cover: School's First Day of School
A perennial favorite in many classrooms is First Day Jitters by Julie Danneberg, illustrated by Judy Love. The story follows a reluctant protagonist who resists all efforts to get ready for school. Only at the end is it revealed that this character is actually the teacher. This offers the opportunity for students to appreciate that their teacher is a person, too, who may have feelings about the new year that are complicated, just like their own. It is also funny, and first days are better when the class can share a laugh. Beyond the first-day-of-school perspective from the school and teacher, there’s even a book about the first day of school from the point of view of the bus, Little Yellow Bus by Erin Guendelsberger, illustrated by Suzie Mason. The bus, like the teacher, is nervous, but he pushes through and has a great first day!
Book cover: First Day Jitters
Book cover: Little Yellow Bus
Children’s literature provides positive examples of children’s agency in the face of new experiences. The Queen of Kindergarten by Derrick Barnes, following The King of Kindergarten, both illustrated by Vanessa Brantley-Newton, is the story of a child who is primed to be successful by her family as she internalizes their praise and deep respect. A fun detail occurs as she is asked to select a book for a classroom read aloud and selects Crown, a book by the same author. Another book that shines light on attitude is I Got the School Spirit by Connie Schofield-Morrison, illustrated by Frank Morrison. This book will create excitement in the classroom as students appreciate that they bring the enthusiasm necessary to shape a strong community.
Book cover: The Queen of Kindergarten
Book cover: The King of Kindergarten
Book cover: I Got the School Spirit
The Day You Begin by Jacqueline Woodson, illustrated by Rafael López is a book that will help students who worry that they might not fit in. It will open conversation about the value and importance of welcoming and appreciating everyone and provide a springboard to celebrate differences and to find similarities. This can be paired with All Are Welcome by Alexandra Penfold, illustrated by Suzanne Kaufman, a picture book whose simple message of inclusivity is told in rhyme and reinforced with the images of happy and diverse children.
Book cover: All Are Welcome
Every school year is new as students move through different grades, and first days are the subject of books for older students as well as the very young. Beyond picture books, check out the early chapter book Harry Versus the First Hundred Days of School by Emily Jenkins and illustrated by Pete Oswald. Harry is in first grade, and each chapter follows the calendar academic year as he experiences the ups and downs of the school year. For added fun, the author refers to over a dozen picture books which can be read aloud during the school year, including Last Stop on Market Street by Matt de la Peña, illustrated by Christian Robinson, and Niño Wrestles the World by Yuyi Morales. Middle schoolers will love New Kid and Class Act by Jerry Craft, graphic novels that follow Jordan, a new student, and his friends as they navigate middle school.

There are many more titles not included here, and this is just a sampling, barely scratching the surface of what is available. First day worries are ubiquitous, and books can normalize the sense of unease while bringing classes together to laugh and to consider how creating a sense of belonging for all can set the tone for the whole year.
Book cover: Harry Versus the First 100 Days of School
Book cover: Last Stop on Market Street
Book cover: Nino Wrestles the World
Book cover: New Kid
Book cover: Class Act
Susan Polos​ is the middle school librarian at Greenwich Country Day School in Greenwich, Connecticut, and is a CLA member.

    Authors:
    CLA Members

    Supporting PreK-12 and university teachers as they share children’s literature with their students in all classroom contexts.

    Disclaimer
    The opinions and ideas posted in the individual entries are those of the individual authors and do not necessarily reflect the opinions or views of CLA or the Blog Editors.

    Blog Editors

    Xenia Hadjioannou
    Lauren Liang
    Liz Thackeray Nelson

    contribute to the blog

    Instructions to Authors

    If you are a current CLA member and you would like to contribute a post to the CLA Blog, please read the Instructions to Authors and email co-editor Liz Thackeray Nelson with your idea.


    Archives

    December 2022
    November 2022
    October 2022
    September 2022
    August 2022
    June 2022
    May 2022
    April 2022
    March 2022
    February 2022
    January 2022
    December 2021
    November 2021
    October 2021
    September 2021
    August 2021
    June 2021
    May 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020

    Categories

    All
    Activism
    Advocacy
    African American Literature
    Agency
    All Grades
    American Indian
    Antiracism
    Art
    Asian American
    Authors
    Award Books
    Awards
    Back To School
    Biography
    Black Culture
    Black Freedom Movement
    Bonnie Campbell Hill Award
    Book Bans
    Book Challenges
    Book Discussion Guides
    Censorship
    Chapter Books
    Children's Literature
    Civil Rights Movement
    CLA Auction
    Classroom Ideas
    Collaboration
    Comprehension Strategies
    Contemporary Realistic Fiction
    COVID
    Creativity
    Creativity Sponsors
    Critical Literacy
    Crossover Literature
    Cultural Relevance
    Culture
    Current Events
    Digital Literacy
    Disciplinary Literacy
    Distance Learning
    Diverse Books
    Diversity
    Early Chapter Books
    Emergent Bilinguals
    Endowment
    Family Literacy
    First Week Books
    First Week Of School
    Garden
    Global Children’s And Adolescent Literature
    Global Children’s And Adolescent Literature
    Global Literature
    Graduate
    Graduate School
    Graphic Novel
    High School
    Historical Fiction
    Identity
    Illustrators
    Indigenous
    Indigenous Stories
    Innovators
    Intercultural Understanding
    Intermediate Grades
    International Children's Literature
    Journal Of Children's Literature
    Language Arts
    Language Learners
    LCBTQ+ Books
    Librarians
    Literacy Leadership
    #MeToo Movement
    Middle Grade Literature
    Middle Grades
    Middle School
    Mindfulness
    Multiliteracies
    Museum
    Native Americans
    Nature
    NCTE
    Nonfiction Books
    Nurturing Lifelong Readers
    Outside
    #OwnVoices
    Picturebooks
    Picture Books
    Poetic Picturebooks
    Poetry
    Preschool
    Primary Grades
    Primary Sources
    Professional Resources
    Reading Engagement
    Research
    Science
    Science Fiction
    Self-selected Texts
    Social Justice
    Social Media
    Social Studies
    Sports Books
    STEAM
    STEM
    Storytelling
    Summer Camps
    Summer Programs
    Teacher
    Teaching Reading
    Teaching Resources
    Teaching Writing
    Text Sets
    The Arts
    Tradition
    Translanguaging
    Trauma
    Ukraine
    Undergraduate
    Using Technology
    Verse Novels
    Virtual Library
    Vocabulary
    War
    #WeNeedDiverseBooks
    YA Lit
    Young Adult Literature

    RSS Feed

CLA

About CLA
CLA Board & Committees
Membership
Merchandise
Endowment Fund

Grants & Awards

CLA Research Award
Bonnie Campbell Hill Award
CLA Early Career Award
CLA Student Travel Grant

Journal of Children's Literature

Write for JCL
JCL Editors

The CLA Blog

Notables

Current List
Notables Archive

Resources

CLA-sponsored NCTE Position Statements
Children's Literature Course Syllabi
Children's Literature Blogs

CLA @NCTE

Children's Literature Assembly Breakfast
Master Class
Other CLA-sponsored Sessions

Art Auction

Members-Only Content

CLA Video Library
CLA Newsletter Archive

JCL Past Issues Archive

Current JCL Issue
JCL Podcasts

© COPYRIGHT 2018.
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
  • Home
  • Join/Donate
  • Members Only
  • Journal
  • Notables
  • Grants & Awards
  • Resources
  • CLA @ NCTE
  • About
  • CLA Blog