Labor Day is right around the corner marking the official end of summer. The mornings and nights are a little cooler, a little crisper, and students are back at school. For many, the start of a new school year brings excitement, anticipation. For most, there is also a feeling of anxiety, an uncertainty about what the days will bring. To help discuss and calm those back to school jitters look to the books below, brand new for 2017.
A New School Year: Stories in Six Voices by Sally Derby
In a unique narrative, readers meet a diverse group of six children ranging in age from Kindergarten through fifth grade. With nerves and excitement each child gears up for a new school year by hustling in the morning, meeting new teachers and new classmates during the day, and heading home with homework and relief by day’s end.
Twindergarten by Nikki Ehrlich
Dax and Zoe are twins. They go together like peanut butter and jelly. It’s the night before the twins are starting kindergarten, and they have the just-about-to-start-school jitters. After all, they will be in different classrooms! What will kindergarten be like when they’re not together all day? But Dax and Zoe will learn that kindergarten is full of new surprises and adventures, and being apart for a short while isn’t so bad.
Lily’s Cat Mask by Julie Fortenberry
Armed with a vivid imagination and her trusty cat mask, Lily can take on anything–even a new school…
But when her teacher tells her no masks allowed in class, Lily worries, can she make friends without it?
Lucia the Luchadora by Cynthia Leonor Garza
Lucia zips through the playground in her cape just like the boys, but when they tell her ‘girls can’t be superheroes’, suddenly she doesn’t feel so mighty. That’s when her beloved abuela reveals a dazzling secret: Lucia comes from a family of luchadoras, the bold and valiant women of the Mexican lucha libre tradition. But when she’s confronted with a case of injustice, Lucia must decide if she can stay true to the ways of the luchadora and fight for what is right.
I’m Smart by Kate McMullan
Smarter than a rocket scientist, more powerful than a monster truck, able to halt traffic with the flick of a switch! Drive you to school and keeps you safe! Who am I? Your school bus, that’s who!
Amanda Panda Quits Kindergarten by Candice F. Ransom
Amanda Panda has BIG ideas for her first day of school. But when things don’t go according to plan, and when a pesky girl in a pink bow decides to be her best friend, she walks out on kindergarten and joins her brother in second grade. It takes an unlikely partner to fix Amanda’s terrible day–and to teach her about friendship, tolerance, and how to cope with life’s ups and downs.
The Teacher’s Pet by Anica Mrose Rissi
When their class tadpoles are big enough, Mr. Stricter tells his students they can keep just one. The class chooses Bruno, the smallest of the bunch. But Bruno doesn’t stay that way for long. Soon, he’s grown into a giant, classroom-wrecking creature: he eats desks, he farts for show-and-tell, and he sneezes slime all over everything! With Mr. Stricter blinded by love for the pet, the students must step up and take matters into their own heroic hands.
Second Grade Holdout by Audrey Vernick
Second grade? Pfff! No, thanks. The comically anxious narrator in this book thought that first grade had its problems, but overall it was pretty awesome. He’ll take grade one over grade two any day, thank you very much! Especially because he and Tyler, his best friend, will not be in the same class this school year. On top of that, Tyler’s sisters have been feeding the boys a steady stream of rumors about the horrors of second grade.
