BOOK MARKED
Back to School
With Books
Ease your child’s back-to-school jitters with these
stories about schooltime adventures
BY JENNIFER ROTHSCHILD,
COLLECTION ENGAGEMENT LIBRARIAN, ARLINGTON PUBLIC LIBRARY
PICTURE BOOKS
EARLY READERS
HENRY AT HOME
Written by Megan Maynor, illustrated by
Alea Marley
Henry and his sister Liza do everything together,
from fun activities like visiting their favorite
Twisty Tree to scary things like getting a shot.

Liza is going to start kindergarten, but Henry
isn’t old enough to go. Lonely and angry at being
left behind, Henry learns to have fun without
Liza until the end of the day when the two
can share everything that happened on their
separate adventures.

OLIVE OH GETS CREATIVE
Written by Tina Kim, illustrated by Tiff
Bartel Olive is excited about her school’s art contest.

She may only be in the third grade, but she
already knows she’ll be a famous artist when she
grows up, and creativity is what she does best.

But when all of her classmates start working on
their projects, Olive can’t think about what to
do. As she sees everyone else’s work, she starts
to question her creativity and artistic talent until
she finally finds the perfect idea.

NOT LITTLE
Written by Maya Myers, illustrated by
Hyewon Yum
Dot is very small, but she’ll tell you that she
is not little. She is constantly proving her
capabilities, especially when a new boy comes
to school who’s even shorter than she is! When
a bully turns his taunts to the new student, Dot
proves that she’s not little by standing up for her
new classmate despite her fear.

BEAUTIFULLY ME
Written by Nabela Noor, illustrated by
Nabi H. Ali
Zuri is excited for her first day at school and has
picked out a special outfit for the big day and
everything. She starts the day feeling fantastic,
but at breakfast, her parents and sister vocalize
their body insecurities. At school, she overhears
mean comments about other students’ bodies
and starts to feel bad about her own appearance.

At dinner that night. she declares she’s going on
a diet, causing her family to engage in frank self-
reflection and a conversation about what true
beauty really is.

PRINCIPAL TATE IS RUNNING LATE
Written by Henry Cole
Principal Tate keeps Hardy Elementary School
running smoothly with friendly cheer until the
day car trouble means she’s not there when
the day starts. Without their beloved principal,
no one knows what to do about all the little
things that happen—everything from a sick
student to school board members stopping
by. Luckily, everyone starts working together
so that by the time Principal Tate arrives, the
pandemonium has been averted and the school is
running smoothly.

32 Washington FAMILY AUGUST 2021
VAMPIRES DON’T WEAR POLKA DOTS
Written by Marcia Thornton Jones and
Debbie Dadey, illustrated by Pearl Low
The classic Bailey School Kids Adventures
are getting a fresh new life as a graphic novel
series. The third graders at Bailey Elementary
School are notoriously hard to teach, and
they’re notorious for driving all of their other
teachers to quit. But their latest teacher may be
more than she seems. Mrs. Jeepers just moved
from Transylvania and lives in the spookiest
house in town. She couldn’t actually be a
vampire, could she?