BOOK MARKED
Get Back to School
with Books
12 Books To Help Kids Foster a Love for Learning
BY JENNIFER ROTHSCHILD, COLLECTION ENGAGEMENT LIBRARIAN, ARLINGTON PUBLIC LIBRARY
Summer is winding down—time to turn our minds to the leaves
changing colors and cooler weather. As the start of school draws near,
these books will fill your backpack with stories about first days, tips for
making the most of your school year and more.

PICTURE BOOKS
“The Incredible Shrinking
Lunchroom” by Michal Babay,
illustrated by Paula Cohen
In this school-based version of the Yiddish folk-
tale “It Could Always Be Worse,” the students
at Parley Elementary need some help find-
ing room in the lunchroom. When they ask the
principal for help, she moves in all the science
projects, which adds to the overcrowding. Soon
she’s moving in even more items, including all
class pets and sports practices. Luckily, the prin-
cipal has a plan to make everyone appreciate the
lunchroom and make the space they need.

“The Queen of Kindergarten”
by Derrick Barnes, illustrated by
Vanessa Brantley-Newton
MJ has clear goals for her first day of
school: to wear her crown all day and do her
queenly duties of brightening every room
and being caring, kind and helpful. She has
ample opportunities to fulfill her duties as
the day goes on in ways that all students can
easily emulate.

“Puppy Bus”
written and illustrated by
Drew Brockington
An unnamed child has moved to town
and gets on the bus for the first day at a
new school. Once he arrives, it’s obvious
that he took the wrong bus to the wrong
school. This school is full of dogs! All the
28 Washington FAMILY AUGUST 2022
students and teachers and staff are dogs.

The food pyramid is a pile of bones, and
the bathroom stall contains a fire hydrant.

Luckily, he and the other students are still
able to find things in common and have
a good time.

TRANSITIONAL READERS
“Mordecai’s Magic”
by Bryan Patrick Avery,
illustrated by Arief Putra
A new student joins Mr. Grizley’s class.

There’s a school assembly first thing, so Mor-
decai barely has a chance to introduce himself
to everyone before they must go to the audi-
torium. Unfortunately, the magician who was
supposed to perform for the students canceled
at the last minute. Luckily, Mordecai has a
backpack full of magic tricks. Just because he’s
new doesn’t mean he can’t save the day!
“When the Schools Shut Down:
A Young Girl’s Story of Virginia’s
‘Lost Generation’ and the Brown
v. Board of Education of Topeka
Decision” by Yolanda Gladden with Tamara
Pizzoli, illustrated by Keisha Morris
Instead of desegregating schools, some areas
closed the public schools instead of admit-
ting Black students. Virginia’s Prince Edward
County was one such area. When author
Yolanda Gladden was ready to start school in
1959, a school for her to attend didn’t exist.

Instead, the Black community set up schools
in local churches, teaching basic school
subjects as well as Black history, setting up
a good foundation for Yolanda and other
students to be ready to start school when
the public schools eventually reopened and
desegregated in 1964.

“School Day!”
by Candice Ransom,
illustrated by Ashley Evans
Two siblings look forward to the first day
of school. The older sister is starting third
grade, and she’s able to show her brother all
the ropes on his first day of kindergarten. She
knows who the teachers are, where to go, and
everything he needs to have a great first day.

MIDDLE-GRADE READERS
“Alice Austen Lived Here”
by Alex Gino
Sam does not like his history teacher’s take
on history. When a contest to determine a
new local history statue leads to a class proj-
ect, Sam and his best friend TJ try to find
someone the history teacher wouldn’t talk
about. The two focus on real-life turn-of-the-
century lesbian photographer Alice Austen.

In connecting more with local, queer his-
tory, they must challenge their teacher’s
assumptions about who is important in this
feel-good, thoughtful read.

“Answers in the Pages”
by David Levithan
When Donovan’s teacher assigns “The Adven-
turers” to read, Donovan leaves it on the



BOOK MARKED
kitchen counter, where his mother
finds it. A single sentence at the end
indicates that the male protagonists
might be in love, which prompts Don-
ovan’s mother to call the principal to
complain. The battle over the book
quickly becomes public and divides
the community, with Donovan caught
in the middle between his mother, his
friends and a reading assignment he
barely got a chance to start.

“Middle School – Safety Goggles Advised: Exploring
the Weird Stuff from Gossip to Grades, Cliques to
Crushes, and Popularity to Peer Pressure”
by Jessica Speer, illustrated by Lesley Imgart
With choose-your-own-adventure scenarios, quizzes, real-life
examples and stories from other middle schoolers, this survival
guide is everything students need to survive the good, bad, ugly and
just plain weird life of middle school.

TEENS “The Chandler Legacies”
by Adbi Nazemian
The Circle is Professor Douglas' writing workshop
at the elite Chandler Academy. In 1999, the five stu-
dents admitted come from different backgrounds, but
they form a found family in the workshop. Taking the
school’s motto (“the truth will set you free”) to heart,
they start to explore the darker sides of their board-
ing school, such as bullying, assault, homophobia and
racism. They hope to make Chandler a better place
for all of its students. n
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“Nothing More to Tell”
by Karen M. McManus
Four years ago, the body of Brynn’s favorite teacher was discovered
in the woods behind her prep school’s campus. Her family moved
away, but now Brynn’s back. As part of her internship with a true
crime podcast, she wants to solve the murder. Her ex- best friend
was one of the students who found the body, but everything he told
the police was a lie. When Brynn starts looking into what happened,
those aren’t the only secrets about to come to light.

McManus’s writing is full of red herrings, twists and shift-
ing viewpoints, resulting in her best book yet.

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