Ready for back-to-school? It can be exciting and fearful…at the same time! Share these stories with your young scholars to help them make a smooth transition as they navigate school situations and shenanigans with these characters. Best wishes to students and teachers for a wonderful year!

Youth
These picture books bring the fun of starting school to your little ones!

The Crayons Go Back to School by Drew Daywalt
All of the crayons are getting ready to start school again and each one has a favorite subject that they are looking forward to the most. They are ready to make new friends and cut loose during their absolute favorite time of day at school: art class, of course!

Ready for Kindergarten by Bethany Freitas
With both cheerful reassurance and expert guidance, this book helps kids and their caregivers feel ready for anything, especially starting school!

This back-to-school sibling tale is perfect for beginning readers!

School Day! by Candice Ransom
It’s big sister’s first day of third grade, and it will be a cinch for her to show her little brother the ropes on his first day of kindergarten.

Experienced readers will enjoy the classroom hijinks in these chapter books!

First Day, Worst Day by Andy Nonamus
It’s the first day at a new school, and this fresh new start means absolutely no one knows just how unlucky he is. But after missing his school bus, getting lost looking for his classroom, and getting smacked in the face with a basketball, he quickly realizes he is doomed forever. Luckily, some new friends might just help him make it through the worst first day ever!

Strangeville School is Totally Normal by Darcy Miller
Strangeville School is the wackiest, most dangerous school you will ever attend! Harvey Hill’s first day doesn’t go quite as expected when he discovers Strangeville School is full of various wild creatures and super odd happenings!

Approach the school year with humor! Laugh along with this graphic novel and joke book!

Narwhal’s School of Awesomeness by Ben Clanton
Narwhal and Jelly become teachers in the world wide waters and embark on four brand new adventures together. From substitute teaching to a science scavenger hunt to playing tag at recess, Narwhal and Jelly teach others and themselves with positivity and humor.

Silly Jokes About School by Michael Dahl
Get ready to laugh from the cafeteria to the playground with these silly jokes about school! “Why did the runner give all the wrong answers in class? He was off track!”

TWEENS AND TEENS
Even tweens and teens with years of back-to-school experience can be nervous on that first day. See how these characters survive!

Sleeping Freshmen Never Lie by David Lubar
While navigating his first year of high school and awaiting the birth of his new baby brother, Scott loses old friends and gains some unlikely new ones as he hones his skills as a writer.

How to Survive Middle School by Donna Gephart
When 13-year-old David’s best friend makes the start of middle school even worse than he feared it could be, David becomes friends with Sophie, who shares his love of TV shows and posts one of their skits on YouTube, making them wildly popular online.

Schooled by Gordon Korman
Cap lives in isolation with his grandmother, a former hippie, but when she falls from a tree and breaks her hip, Cap is sent to a foster home where he has his first experience in a public school.

New Kid by Jerry Craft
Seventh grader Jordan Banks loves nothing more than drawing cartoons, but instead of sending him to the art school of his dreams, his parents enroll him in a prestigious private school known for its academics.