Back-to-School Picture Books

(2) K-3 Illustrated by Mika Song. "Henry was looking for a friend." Unfortunately, everyone is just too much: some kids are messy; others don't follow class rules. The story turns hopeful when Henry meets Katie, a quiet girl who enjoys reading. Song's pastel-hued ink and watercolor illustrations depict realistic social situations in a supportive and diverse classroom. The story never uses an autism-spectrum label for Henry, leaving readers to follow him without preconceptions.

Reviewer: Julie Hakim Azzam | Horn Book Magazine Issue: May, 2019

(3) K-3 It's Mae's first day of school, but she's "not going." She hides in a schoolyard tree and before long, another little girl and then teacher Ms. Pearl climb up with similar fears, which gives them all the confidence to go inside. This sweet twist on the perennial first-day-of-school theme reassures readers with its textual repetition and the illustrations' soft lines and pastel hues.

Reviewer: Kari Allen

(3) PS Tinyville Town series. Ellie just moved to Tinyville Town, and on her first day of school, she finds friendly, helpful people everywhere. The positive social interactions are reassuring for kids who feel nervous about attending school. Biggs's distinctive cartoony illustration style for this series (Tinyville Town Gets to Work!), with its diverse population of oblong-shaped characters, uses bright colors to reflect residents' happiness.

Reviewer: Miriam Steinberg-Egeth

(2) PS Illustrated by Juana Medina. Lena isn't nervous to start kindergarten...but her shoes are. Lena enlists her headband (who is "a good listener") to talk to them, and, with fears assuaged and a bit of reverse psychology, Lena and her outfit make it to the first day. Child-friendly digital illustrations depict the shaking shoes; the happy results of previous times Lena was brave; and, finally, everyone's shoes mingling happily on the playground.

Reviewer: Elissa Gershowitz | Horn Book Magazine Issue: September, 2018

(2) PS Illustrated by Betsy Lewin. Farmer Brown and the barn animals (Click, Clack, Moo etc.) are invited to visit the local elementary school. He quells the animals' noisy enthusiasm with stern warnings: there will be none of that boisterousness. But when the recess bell rings, chaos ensues, and humans and animals alike happily run amok. The text's effective sound effects and repetition combine with expressive, relaxed-line watercolors for a funny and exuberant "quack"-to-school adventure.

Reviewer: Julie Danielson | Horn Book Magazine Issue: September, 2018

(3) K-3 Illustrated by Mika Song. Six children in kindergarten through fifth grade share their fears and hopes the night before the first day of school, during that day, and after school. Derby's free-verse poems subtly convey a range of emotions, family situations, and first-day experiences. Uncluttered watercolor and ink illustrations depict the diverse cast of students, parents, and teachers. This upbeat poetry volume should both reassure and entertain young readers.

Reviewer: Renée Wheeler

(3) PS Illustrated by Ben Whitehouse. Dragon Roar is not looking forward to summer ending; he's nervous about starting school ("what if my teacher is a knight in shining armor...?"). With reassurance from big sister Sparkles, Roar has a great first day and even makes his sister a special picture. Illustrated with goofy cartoons, the story cleverly riffs on typical school goings-on: the dragons play "hide-and-seek-the-princess" in gym, etc.

Reviewer: Kari Allen

(4) PS Illustrated by Sara Not. Fairy's mom primes her for the first day of school: Fairy might have to feed the class firefly, she should quietly raise her wand if she has something to say, etc. There's enough sound advice beneath all the fairy dust for the book to comfort even fairy-indifferent students-to-be. Not's pencil and digital-media art is clean-lined but ultra-cutesy.

Reviewer: Nell Beram

(1) PS On the first day of school, Tyrannosaurus rex Penelope does what any nervous dino would do: she eats her human classmates (then spits them out). Then the class goldfish takes a bite of her finger: "Once Penelope found out what it was like to be someone's snack, she lost her appetite for children." Higgins builds his humorous, soft-around-the-edges cast out of dinosaurishly lumpy-craggy art.

Reviewer: Nell Beram | Horn Book Magazine Issue: September, 2018

(2) K-3 In this wordless story, brown-skinned newcomer Vanessa is bullied by a white boy as she walks home alone from school. A girl classmate witnesses the abuse; the next morning she walks to school with Vanessa and they're joined by more supporters. Watercolor and ink illustrations excel at communicating emotions; a mix of vignettes and full-page illustrations expertly controls the pacing. Bullying-related resources are appended.

Reviewer: Martha V. Parravano | Horn Book Magazine Issue: January, 2018

(4) K-3 Translated by Dave Morrison. Illustrated by Bruna Assis Brasil. A boy walks readers through his concerns about his first day of school: "Now I'm in the belly / of this monstrous bus. / The driver's a zombie / who won't talk to us." The story follows the expected school-isn't-so-bad path, and the rhymes (translated from the Spanish) drop the odd beat, but elevating the affair is the surrealism-tinged art reflecting the kid's imagination.

Reviewer: Nell Beram

(3) PS Illustrated by Sophie Burrows. In a nicely repetitive rhyming text, a child counts down the last ten sleeps until the first day of school and speculates what might happen there: "I'll paint and glue, / draw a picture or two." At book's end, we see the exuberant little-boy narrator doing those very activities in kindergarten. Burrows's watercolor and colored-pencil illustrations are sweet and ably capture that first-day excitement.

Reviewer: Kari Allen

(2) PS The pals from Best Frints in the Whole Universe are now going to "skrool." They listen to their skreecher, read bloox, and navigate social dynamics, such as when a new frint comes between them. Again, the story's copious humor comes from readers recognizing the similarities between Planet Boborp and Earth. Bright, blobby, and pointy illustrations capture the characters' recognizable emotions in an out-of-this-world school setting.

Reviewer: Elissa Gershowitz | Horn Book Magazine Issue: May, 2018

(1) K-3 Illustrated by Chris Raschka. With her teacher out sick, a girl writes a series of letters throughout the day, beginning: "Dear Substitute, / Wow. This is a surprise. / What are you doing here?" Scanlon and Vernick capture with humor and sympathy the indignation some kids feel when life doesn't go as expected. In his watercolor and gouache paintings, Raschka makes the mundane school setting fresh with unexpected twists.

Reviewer: Susan Dove Lempke | Horn Book Magazine Issue: September, 2018

(3) PS Illustrated by Claire Messer. The first day of school is also the first day on the job for Busy Bus. The bus driver goes through his safety check, which introduces the different parts of the bus to young readers. Busy Bus's friendly face as he heads to school in the bright, digitally colored lino-print and ink illustrations will help alleviate any nerves for first-time school goers.

Reviewer: Kari Allen

(3) K-3 Illustrated by Tatjana Mai-Wyss. The forest animal friends from Bunny's Book Club are back at the library but disappointed to learn that human Josie will soon begin school. With Josie worried about making new friends, the menagerie decides to attend school, too; the critters explore classrooms before reuniting with Josie on the playground. Pleasing watercolor illustrations depict this cute spin on the first-day-of-school story with gentle silliness.

Reviewer: Renée Wheeler

(2) K-3 Illustrated by Karen Hibbard. Nimoshom ("my grandfather") is a beloved school bus driver who sometimes speaks in Cree. A brief text about his daily routine incorporates Cree words. "In the morning, nimoshom would greet the kids. He would say: 'Tansi!' Tansi means hello." The story's rhythmic pacing and conversational quality makes for an enjoyable read-aloud experience. Loose, expressive mixed-media illustrations capture the warm relationship between nimoshom and the children. Glos.

Reviewer: Minh Lê | Horn Book Magazine Issue: March, 2018

(3) K-3 Illustrated by Julianna Swaney. All goes swimmingly for narrator Molly at her first day of Mermaid School. The teacher, Miss Marina, leads her multicultural fish-tailed students (both female and male) through familiar-with-a-twist activities, from storytime ("of boys and girls who have no tails") to singing the "A-B-Seas." Soft, aquatic-hued illustrations suit the reassuring rhyming verse. Tips in the appended "Mermaid School Handbook" could help land-dwelling new students, too.

Reviewer: Carolyn Shute

(2) K-3 Illustrated by Patrice Barton. Thirty-five poems cover the school year, from "Bus Stop" to "Sing a Song of Summer," with lots of everyday experiences in between. Winters's poems are short, mostly upbeat, and funny, and she playfully uses punctuation and capitalization for emphasis and to create pauses. Barton's digital pictures feature exuberant and active children who seem to be around first grade–age, with a range of skin colors and ethnicities.

Reviewer: Susan Dove Lempke | Horn Book Magazine Issue: May, 2018

(2) K-3 Illustrated by Rafael López. Venezuelan immigrant Rigoberto looks crestfallen when the class laughs at his name; other classmates feel left out when friends make fun of their lunch foods. And the (unnamed) African American protagonist has trouble finding her voice when her classmates recount their summer vacations until she realizes books have afforded her boundless travel. Woodson's story about feeling like an outcast values literacy, reading, and imagination. López's illustrations feature vivid, brilliant colors.

Reviewer: Michelle H. Martin | Horn Book Magazine Issue: September, 2018

(1) PS A boy just misses his city bus; the ones that come along next are increasingly odd ("THAT is NOT my bus"). Finally, a spaceship-like carrier is the perfect bus for the boy. With muted background colors, Yang draws readers' eyes to the action involving stylized characters and outlandish vehicles. Simple speech-balloon dialogue makes this just the right ride for both pre-readers and emerging readers.

Reviewer: Julie Danielson | Horn Book Magazine Issue: May, 2018

(3) K-3 Illustrated by Tarsila Krüse. Benno the bear is excited and ready for his first day of school; his mother, however, feels very differently. She tries to convince him not to go, but Benno repeatedly provides reassurance to his mom, including hand kisses pocketed away for later (à la Audrey Penn's The Kissing Hand). The mixed-media art highlights the story's humorous and endearing role reversal.

Reviewer: Kari Allen