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?



BOOK MARKED
MIDDLE-GRADE READERS
MIDDLE SCHOOL BITES
Written by Steven Banks, illustrated by
Mark Fearing
Looking at the start of middle school, Tom has big
plans to fly under the radar and have a quiet year.

His plans are dashed on the last day of summer
vacation when he’s bitten by a rat, a mangy dog
and a creepy Halloween decoration. He finds
himself turned into a vampire, werewolf and
zombie. In addition to navigating classes, bullies
and locker mates, he also has to deal with turning
into a wolf once a month and frequent cravings for
blood and brains!
JUST BE COOL, JENNA SAKAI
Written by Debbi Michiko Florence
Dealing with the fallout of her parents’ nasty
divorce and her own breakup, Jenna decides to
refocus on school and her goals, especially her
love of investigative journalism. But her first
assignment for newspaper club is a personal essay,
which will mean poking some emotional bruises
she’d rather pretend don’t exist. Things get even
more complicated when her recent ex is her main
competition for a journalism scholarship.

ONE KID’S TRASH
Written by Jamie Sumner
Hugo has always been teased for being small, but
his outcast status means he’s gotten very good at
observing everything around him. He’s particularly
adept at Garbology—the art of learning all about
someone by analyzing their trash. When his father
moves them across the country for a new job,
Hugo’s garbage-analyzing skills gain him popularity
for the first time, but popularity can be fickle,
especially when Hugo lets his fame go to his head.

TEENS THE TAKING OF JAKE LIVINGSTON
Written by Ryan Douglass
The teachers at Jake’s high school frequently ignore
the small and large ways he’s bullied for being one
of the only Black students at his school. In addition
to the horror that is school, Jake’s also a medium.

He sees dead people reliving and helps them move
on. One recent spirit is particularly vengeful and
wants to use Jake to finish enacting the murder
spree he started before he died. Jake is now fighting
a battle for survival on multiple planes in this
horror thriller.

HANI AND ISHU’S GUIDE
TO FAKE DATING
Written by Adiba Jaigirdar
When Hani’s friends tell her she can’t really be
bisexual because she’s only dated guys, she blurts
out that she’s dating the most unlikely girl in
school—Ishu. They’re total opposites: Hani is
popular, but Ishu is devoted to her studies. Hani is
Muslim and Ishu is an atheist Hindu. Hani is out,
and Ishu is still in the closet. Hani is Bangladeshi-
Irish, and Ishu is Indian-Irish. But Ishu could use
Hani’s popularity in her bid to become head girl,
so Ishu agrees to the ruse. But fake dating wasn’t
nearly as hard as staying together when feelings
develop between the two of them.

BOTH SIDES NOW
Written by Peyton Thomas
Finch loves debate and is hoping to get a debate
scholarship to attend college, but he struggles
with the topic for Nationals. Everyone at the
competition will be debating transgender bathroom
access, but for Finch, it isn’t an academic exercise.

He is trans and isn’t sure he can handle hearing
what feels like a debate on his right to exist in
public. Adding to his complications, he has a crush
on his debate partner who already has a boyfriend. n
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