The month of September is naturally a time for change. The days get shorter, leaves get more colorful, and the air starts to get crisp. Summer activities end and new routines take their place. For many families, these new routines are centered around school.
Change can be tough for all of us, but especially for a child who is starting school for the first time. For many children, going to preschool or kindergarten is the first time that they’ve spent a large portion of the day away from home, away from mom and dad, and away from all things familiar. The library is a great place to turn to, to help make the going-to-school transition as smooth as possible. Reading informational books about going to school can help ease some worries by letting children know what to expect. Fictional stories are useful as well when children see relatable characters going through the same things that they’re experiencing. These stories can also bring a much-needed laugh to the nervous moments that come with the first days of school. The library has books on all sorts of situations that can cause stress for children, from potty training and getting new glasses to homelessness and parents in prison. Check out the Here to Help booklists for these topics and more.
When Ally roars off to her first day at school, she hopes she’ll meet lots of other dinosaur-mad kids in class. Instead, she’s the only one chomping her food with fierce dino teeth and drawing dinosaurs on her nameplate. Even worse, a group of would-be “princesses” snubs her! Will Ally ever make new friends?
Oliver and Dad have spent a fun summer together but when it comes time for the first day of school, Dad discovers that he is not ready and does everything he can to postpone the big day.
Mrs. Madoff’s students compare notes about getting ready for their first day of school after vacation. The first day of school is full of new things. New is exciting! But it can also be scary. What will school be like this year?
All children have a first day at school. Learn what happens when you get to school, at the end of the day, and in between.
A young child imagines going off to Kindergarten as a journey to another planet.
A cautious mouse named Tiny gives advice to his best friend, an exuberant hippopotamus named Penelope, on such things as what to wear and what to take for show-and-tell on the first day of school.