BOOK MARKED
Back-to-School Books
The first day of school is always ripe
with possibility for what the year will
bring, even in a pandemic
BY JENNIFER ROTHSCHILD, COLLECTION ENGAGEMENT LIBRARIAN,
ARLINGTON PUBLIC LIBRARY
BOARD BOOKS
them out, eating your classmates isn’t the best
way to make friends. When the hungry class fish
Written and illustrated by Marion Cocklico
shows Penelope what it feels like to be a snack,
Ben’s nervous about his first day of school, but she’s able to make amends.

he finds his cubby, joins circle time, makes new
friends and enjoys himself in this comforting read ‘The King of Kindergarten’
designed to prepare children for their own first Written by Derrick Barnes, illustrated by
days. Young readers will enjoy the bright illustra- Vanessa Brantley-Newton
tions full of flaps to lift and other manipulative After his mother tells him he’ll be the King of
features. Parents will appreciate the tips on each Kindergarten, a young boy can’t wait to start
page to help their children transition to preschool. school. On the first day he puts a royal spin on
everything (instead of the school bus taking him
‘Have You Seen my Lunch Box?’
to school, the yellow carriage takes him to his
Written and illustrated by Steve Light
towering fortress). The result is a fantastic first
Many parents will recognize the scene that day. Readers will see many routine classroom
plays out in this seek-and-find board book. It’s experiences filled with a positive energy to get
time to catch the bus, but first the young protag- kids excited for their own first day.

onist must find his school things amid a jumble
of other household items. Careful use of color ‘The Proudest Blue: A Story of
against the black-and-white illustrations make Hijab and Family’
items easy to spot for young readers.

Written by Ibtihaj Muhammed and S. K.

‘I’m Going to Preschool’
‘Pete the Kitty’s First Day
of Preschool’
Written and illustrated by Kimberly and
James Dean
Ali, illustrated by Hatem Aly.

Faizah’s ready for the first day of school with her
new backpack and light-up shoes, but she’s even
more excited because her older sister, Asiya,
has started to wear her hijab. Mama wanted
her to pick a nice pink, but instead she chose a
bright, proud blue. But when Asiya is teased on
the playground, Faizah has to find a way to be
strong. Luckily, Asiya shows her how to handle
the bullies in this powerful and uplifting story
about the bonds of sisterhood.

Crowd-favorite Pete the Cat stars in a line of board
books about his younger days. On his first day of
preschool, when asked if he’s nervous, he says
“No, I’m cool.” He has his cool new backpack and
art supplies and is ready to go. While at school, he
does many typical preschool activities like singing
and painting. At the end of the day, he doesn’t want
to leave! Older readers may want to opt for “Pete EARLY READERS
the Cat: Rocking in my School Shoes.”
‘The Best Seat in Kindergarten’
PICTURE BOOKS
‘We Don’t Eat Our Classmates’
Written and illustrated by Ryan T. Higgins
Penelope is excited to start school and can’t
wait to meet her classmates. Unfortunately, her
classmates are all human and Penelope is a T
Rex—so she eats them. Even though she spits
46 Washington FAMILY AUGUST 2020
Written by Katherine Kenah, illustrated by
Abby Carter
Sam’s pretty nervous for his first day kindergar-
ten. As a fun activity, his teacher takes the class
on a nature walk and when they return to class,
everyone gets to share something they found on
the walk. A reassuring story about the big feelings
that can accompany starting school.




‘Big Shark, Little Shark Go to School’
Written by Anna Membrino, illustrated
by Tim Budgen
Odd-couple Big Shark and Little Shark are off
to school. Little Shark shows up extra early
for the bus, but Big Shark is running so far
behind, he doesn’t arrive until the bus has
come and gone. Now how will the friends get
to school? While the plot line won’t happen
to many human students, young readers will
enjoy these fun shark antics.

‘The Buddy Bench’
Written by Gwendolyn Hooks,
illustrated by Shirley Ng-Benitez
Padma loves school and playing with her
friends. When she notices a boy sitting all by
himself at recess, she works to create a Buddy
Bench—a place for kids to sit to signal that
they would like to be asked to play. This early
reader is a great introduction to the Buddy
Bench, which are becoming more common on
school playgrounds.

MIDDLE GRADE
‘Insignificant Events in the Life of
a Cactus’
Written by Dusti Bowling
Due to a rare genetic condition, Aven Green
was born without arms, but she likes to tell peo-
ple she lost them wrestling alligators. Moving
across country so her parents can take over an
old theme park is hard enough, but Aven also
must deal with all the questions and comments
about her body as she starts at a new school.

After a rocky start she befriends a boy with a dis-
ability of his own, and the two work together to
solve a mystery about the history of theme park.

‘Real Friends’
Written by Shannon Hale, illustrated by
LeUyen Pham
Award-winning author Hale tells a poignant
and familiar story of changing friendships in
this graphic novel memoir. Shannon always
felt like the odd-one out, but she found a
great best friend in Adrienne. Over the years,
Adrienne becomes one of the most popular
girls in school, and Shannon suddenly feels
like an outsider looking in. Hale is careful to
show the sympathetic side to mean charac-
ters as well as highlighting her own mistakes
as she finds her own place and real friends.

‘New Kid’
Written by Jerry Craft
Jordan loves art—especially drawing cartoons
about his life. He wants to go to art school, but
his parents send him to Riverdale Academy
instead, a prestigious school known for its aca-
demics. At his new school, Jordan is one of one
a few non-white students, which brings many
challenges, such as regularly being confused
with the few other Black kids. Meanwhile, he
also struggles to stay true to his friends from
the neighborhood even though they are no lon-
ger classmates. A moving graphic novel about
staying true to yourself.

YOUNG ADULT
‘Her Royal Highness’
Written by Rachel Hawkins
In this fizzy companion to Prince Charming,
heartbroken Millie decides to apply to board-
ing schools far, far away from her Texas home.

She lands at a prestigious school in Scotland,
where her roommate is a literal princess. At
first, Flora seems every bit the selfish entitled
brat the tabloids make her out to be, but Millie
soon gets to know the troubled and unhappy
girl beneath the tiara and a wonderful friend-
ship and possible romance bloom. But if start-
ing a new school in a new country was hard,
dating a royal is a whole new level of intensity
that Millie doesn’t know if she’s prepared for.

‘Popular: A Memoir’
Written by Maya Van Wagenen
At her Texas middle school, Maya is at the
bottom of the popularity ladder. Figuring
things couldn’t get any worse, she decides to
live by the advice she finds in a 1950s popu-
larity guide and document the results. While
the pearls and girdle work against her, Maya
gains a lot by widening her social circles and
interactions. Maya’s voice shines as she docu-
ments the harder parts of living on the Texas/
Mexico border during the drug war as well
as her failures and ultimate successes with
decades-old, but timeless, advice.

‘Middle School is Worse Than
Meatloaf: A Year Told Through
Stuff’ Written by Jennifer L. Holm, illustrated
by Elicia Castaldi
Full-color pages feature a collage of maga-
zine articles, school assignments, notes, bank
statements and ephemera to tell the story of
Ginny’s first year in middle school. It’s a fun
and revealing way to show the highs and lows
of the school year. For example, drug store
receipts for hair dye are followed by signifi-
cantly higher salon bills for dye-reversal, while
notes with her friends reveal changes in her
house as she gets used to living with her new
stepfather. It’s a fun and revealing way to show
the highs and lows of the school year. n
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