60 Important Back to School Read Aloud Books

Olu’s Teacher: A Story About Starting Preschool written by Jamel C. Campbell, illustrated by Lydia Mba
Olu wonders what teachers are like and if they’re scary. His mom and dad reassure him but “ohhh, MACARONI,” his tummy feels wobbly about starting school. At school, he meets his teacher named Jay who looks like Olu! Then Olu plays with his friends and sings songs. Before he knows it, it’s time to go home and he can’t wait to come back the next day. This is a reassuring story that normalizes feeling wobbly about starting something new with a Black male teacher as the kind, first teacher.

The First Week of School written and illustrated by Drew Breckmeyer
I’m getting Richard Scary vibes in the sense that this story is not told in a typical narrative story structure but a read-around-the-page-to-see-what’s happening kind of way. From Monday’s Show and Tell to Recess to Friday’s Class Party, this is the story of the first week of school, when a spaceship arrives at the school and NOBODY notices. Also, Nobody is the name of the alien which is a funny play on words. Nobody finds a desk, Nobody hides from the janitor, Nobody likes the STEM lab, and Nobody waves goodbye on Friday. Nobody remembers what happened. Bwahahaha! LOVE!!!!

This is the Day You Begin by Jaqueline Woodson, illustrations by Rafael López
The evocative, lyrical text with gorgeous, lush illustrations illuminates the awkwardness of a girl’s first days at school. She listens to other kids’ big stories of summer and feels like she doesn’t fit until…she finds out that maybe there she might have something in common with others after all.

A New School Year: Stories in Six Voices by Sally Derby, illustrated by Mika Song
Relatable and heart-warming with emotion, read the poems of six students all about the first day of the year. Use this to reassure your kids that it’s normal to feel both worried and excited about new things and that you never know what can happen on your first day.

Wombat Goes to School by Jackie French and Bruce Whatley
This wombat narrates all about his first day of school in simple text paired with illuminating illustrations. His experience is so funny plus you’ll love the wombat’s charming personality.

Lena’s Shoes Are Nervous (A First-Day-of-School Dilemma) by Keith Calabrese, illustrated by Juana Medina
Lena’s feeling BOTH nervous AND outgoing. (Her shoes are nervous but her dress is outgoing.) Her dad asks questions and listens. When Lena figures out that her headband can talk to her shoes, her dad gives them space to work things out. The headband reminds the shoes of other times that they were scared and also brave and that things eventually worked out. The clothes decide to be brave and go to school with Lena. It’s a brilliant personification story that emotionally resonates with children who are fearful of attending school.

My School Unicorn written by Willow Evans, illustrated by Tom Knight
Evie is feeling wobbly about going to school so at the school uniform store, the store clerk suggests Evie bring a school unicorn. The teeny-tiny unicorn named Bobby helps her whenever she feels worried. He gives her a nuzzle or hops up on her shoulder, and she feels better. With Bobby, all the new things at school didn’t feel so scary. By Saturday, Evie’s wobbles have gone away, so she gives Bobby back to the uniform store so he can help someone else. Your kids will love that the back page has a traceable picture of Bobby so you can make your own unicorn.

Truman by Jean Reidy, illustrated by Lucy Ruth Cummins
In a tender story about the first day of school from a pet tortoise’s perspective, readers get a strong sense of place and emotion as Truman worries and waits for a thousand hours for his Sarah. Just as he’s about to leave the apartment to find her, Sarah arrives home. Back in his habitat, he feels proud as Sarah reads him a story about her day at school.

I Will Be Fierce! by Bea Birdsong, illustrated by Nidhi Chanani
A little girl uses her imagination to set a positive intention for her school day. She puts on her armor and sets off to explore new worlds, taking on dragons (dogs) and walking with giants (big kids at the school bus stop), climbing the Mountain of Knowledge (library), and standing up for her beliefs (sitting with a lonely girl in the cafeteria). Today she will be the hero of her own story. What an inspiration for young girls everywhere! This picture book shows all the opportunities we have every day to be bold and brave and fierce. 

How to Get Your Octopus to School by Becky Scharnhorst, illustrated by Jaclyn Sinquett
It’s going to be tricky getting your octopus to school because they’re very good at hiding and their suction cups are powerful when they won’t let you go. So you’ll need this book of advice to help him get ready and dressed. Watch out for when he gets nervous, he might have an ink accident. In the end, it might be you who has a hard time letting him go to school.

My New Teacher and Me by Al Yankovic
Mr. Booth does not like his student Billy’s crazy exaggerations until Billy shows his teacher that wild and crazy things might just exist in the world. Very funny.

On the First Day of Kindergarten by Tish Rabe, illustrated by Laura Hughes
Just like “On the First Day of Christmas“, follow along as one little girl tells us what’s cool about school including sliding down the slide, singing a song, running in a race, counting up to ten, making lots of friends, and riding the bus to my school.

The Night Before First Grade by Natasha Wing
Natasha Wing writes all the Night Before books in the familiar rhyme of the Night Before Christmas. Look for The Night Before Preschool and The Night Before Kindergarten as well. These books are always funny and reassuring.

Mae’s First Day of School by Kate Berube
This is a familiar back to school story about a child who doesn’t want to go to school. She meets another child and a teacher who don’t want to go to school either. The three climb a tree, talk, and share cookies. Knowing each other helps them feel brave enough to go to school. The story shows that other people also feel scared…even adults. And, they go to school anyway.

First Day Jitters by Julie Danneberg
Sarah doesn’t want to go to kindergarten. But what a surprise when we discover that Sarah is the teacher, not the student. Perfect for kindergarten kids…or any early elementary age.

Fairy’s First Day of School by Bridget Heos, illustrated by Sara Not
Fairy’s mom tells her what to expect on her first day of school. A nice teacher, other fairies, learning new things, centers like art and spells, clean up time, jobs, recess, lunchtime, and so on. Similar to a human’s first day of school, children will enjoy the fairy’s first magical day that ends with smiles and cuddles.

Speak Up, Molly Lou Melon by Patty Lovell, illustrated by David Catrow
Molly Lou Melon IS THE BEST! She’s responsible, loving, kind, tells the truth, and speaks up for what’s right, like stopping a classmate who teases a new student. The illustrations are absolutely perfect and filled with tons of nuanced details that add depth and humor to the story.

I Walk with Vanessa: A Story About a Simple Act of Kindness by Kerascoët
When a classmate is being bullied, what can you do? This wordless picture book shows that sometimes it’s about showing someone that they are not alone. You can do what this girl does: show kindness and walk home with a lonely, hurting person.

Chopsticks by Amy Krouse Rosenthal
Chopsticks are always together. But when one chopstick gets injured, he encourages his partner chopstick to go explore the world alone. Use this metaphorical book to help children learn about friendships. It shows that friends, even when apart, can still be friends – stronger, even. Plus, it’s a punny, funny story.

The Buddy Bench by Patty Brozo, illustrated by Mike Deas
At recess, some students in Miss Mellon’s class don’t have anyone to play with. Soon, other kids notice and invite those lonely kids but after recess, they wonder if there’s a better way. Miss Bellon suggests a Buddy Bench where anyone can go to wait for a friend to meet. Read this with your class and see if they can come up with their own ideas for a Buddy Bench — then actually use it.

Clark the Shark by Bruce Hale, illustrated by Guy Francis
Clark the Shark is just too loud and too rough with his friends. And they don’t want to play with him. But he gets help from his teacher and learns how to modify his behavior so he can play, too.

Quiet Wyatt by Tammi Sauer, illustrated by Arthur Howard
For all the quiet kids in the world, this book shows that YOU matter and that you can be friends with people who aren’t like you. Wyatt’s quiet life isn’t very quiet on a class field trip when he’s paired with Noreen — his exact opposite. In a hilarious contrast of personalities, Noreen talks non-stop and trailblazes right into trouble. Luckily, Wyatt is an excellent ninja so he can save Noreen from the rock slide. “Wyatt smiled. Quietly of course. / He still liked quiet. // He also liked having a friend.“

Carrot and Pea by Morag Hood
This simple book of friendship shows that our uniquenesses add value to our friendships. Lee is a pea who has a lot of pea friends as well as a carrot friend named Colin. Even though Colin can’t roll or bounce like the peas, he makes an excellent tower, bridge, and slide, something his pea friends like.

Want to Play Trucks? by Ann Stott, illustrated by Bob Graham
Jack likes big trucks. Alex likes dolls. When they meet at the sandbox to play, they’ll play dolls that drive trucks. When they get into a fight about dolls in tutus driving a crane, they work it out. Although they both like different things, these friends also have other things in common — playing together and eating ice cream.

When Charley Met Emma by Amy Webb, illustrated by Merrilee Liddiard
When Charley feels different, his mom teaches him that “Different isn’t weird, sad, bad, or strange. Different is different. And different is OK!” After he hurts Emma’s feelings, he apologizes and asks Emma questions. Emma helps Charley know that even though she’s a little “differenter” than he is, she’s a lot the same, too. For example, Emma likes to play on the playground, swing, play tag, and just like Charley, she likes to draw! This compassionate story shows the importance of accepting (physical) disabilities with kindness and openheartedness.

Growth Mindset Picture Books