Picture Books

David Goes to School by David Shannon

(Children + PZ7.S52865 Dav 1999)

David’s activities in school include chewing gum, talking out of turn, and engaging in a food fight, causing his teacher to say over and over, “No, David!”

I Am Absolutely Too Small for School by Lauren Child

(Children Picture Book + CHILD)

When Lola is worried about starting school, her older brother Charlie reassures her.

Back to School for Rotten Ralph by Jack Gantos; illustrated by Nicole Rubel

(Children Picture Book GANTO)

Afraid of being left alone, Rotten Ralph, the nasty red cat, follows Sarah to school and tries to prevent her from making new friends.

Wemberly Worried by Kevin Henkes

(Children Picture Book + HENKE)

A mouse named Wemberly, who worries about everything, finds that she has a whole list of things to worry about when she faces the first day of nursery school.

Flight School by Lita Judge

(Children Picture Book + JUDGE)

Little Penguin, who has the “soul of an eagle,” enrolls in flight school.

School’s First Day of School by Adam Rex; illustrated by Christian Robinson

(Children Picture Book + REX)

“It’s the first day of school at Frederick Douglass Elementary and everyone’s just a little bit nervous, especially the school itself.” —Provided by publisher.

Miss Bindergarten Gets Ready for Kindergarten by Joseph Slate; illustrated by Ashley Wolff

(Children Picture Book + SLATE)

Introduces the letters of the alphabet as Miss Bindergarten and her students get ready for kindergarten.

Ming Goes to School by Deirdre Sullivan; illustrated by Maja Löfdahl

(Children Picture Book + SULLI)

Ming goes to preschool, where she bravely plays all kinds of games with new friends and old, but she is still not quite ready for the big red slide.

Emily’s First 100 Days of School by Rosemary Wells

(Children Picture Book Lg WELLS)

Starting with number one for the first day of school, Emily learns the numbers to one hundred in many different ways.

Yoko Learns to Read by Rosemary Wells

(Children Picture Book WELLS)

Despite the doubts of some classmates and her native-born Japanese mother’s inability to read English, Yoko finds the key to reading and catches up with the other students in putting new leaves on the classroom’s book tree.

Middle Grade

Booked by Kwame Alexander

(Children PZ7.A3771 Bo 2016)

“In this middle grade novel-in-verse by the Newbery Medal-winning and Coretta Scott King Honor Award-winning author of The Crossover, soccer, family, love, and friendship, take center stage as twelve-year-old Nick learns the power of words as he wrestles with problems at home, stands up to a bully, and tries to impress the girl of his dreams.” —Provided by publisher.

Frindle by Andrew Clements

(Children PZ7.C59118 Fr 1996)

When he decides to turn his fifth grade teacher’s love of the dictionary around on her, clever Nick Allen invents a new word and begins a chain of events that quickly moves beyond his control.

The School for Good and Evil by Soman Chainani

(Children PZ7.C34874 Sc 2013)

Best friends Sophie (princess wannabe) and Agatha (witchy loner) are headed (via kidnapping) to the School for Good and Evil, but their assumed destinies are reversed.

George by Alex Gino

(Children PZ7.G379 Ge 2015)

“When people look at George, they think they see a boy. But she knows she’s not a boy. She knows she’s a girl. George thinks she’ll have to keep this a secret forever. Then her teacher announces that their class play is going to be Charlotte’s Web. George really, really, REALLY wants to play Charlotte. But the teacher says she can’t even try out for the part . . . because she’s a boy. With the help of her best friend, Kelly, George comes up with a plan. Not just so she can be Charlotte — but so everyone can know who she is, once and for all.” —Provided by publisher.

Clara Lee and the Apple Pie Dream by Jenny Han

(Children PZ7.H185 Cl 2014)

Korean American fourth-grader Clara Lee longs to be Little Miss Apple Pie, and when her luck seems suddenly to change for the better, she overcomes her fear of public speaking and enters the competition.

Amina’s Voice by Hena Kahn

(Children PZ7.K496 Am 2017)

“A Pakistani-American Muslim girl struggles to stay true to her family’s vibrant culture while simultaneously blending in at school after tragedy strikes her community.” —Provided by publisher.

Goodbye Stranger by Rebecca Stead

(Children PZ7.S80857 Go 2015)

Bridge is an accident survivor who’s wondering why she’s still alive. Emily has new curves and an almost-boyfriend who wants a certain kind of picture. Tabitha sees through everybody’s games—or so she tells the world. The three girls are best friends with one rule: No fighting. Can it get them through seventh grade?… This year everything is different for Sherm Russo as he gets to know Bridge Barsamian. What does it mean to fall for a girl—as a friend?… On Valentine’s Day, an unnamed high school girl struggles with a betrayal. How long can she hide in plain sight?

When You Reach Me by Rebecca Stead

(Children PZ7.S80857 Wh 2009)

As her mother prepares to be a contestant on the 1980s television game show, “The $20,000 Pyramid,” a twelve-year-old New York City girl tries to make sense of a series of mysterious notes received from an anonymous source that seems to defy the laws of time and space.

Young Adult

New Boy by Julian Houston

(Children PZ7.H823 Ne 2005)

As a new sophomore at an exclusive boarding school, a young black man is witness to the persecution of another student with bad acne.

The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks by E. Lockhart

(Children PZ7.L79757 Dis 2008)

Sophomore Frankie starts dating senior Matthew Livingston, but when he refuses to talk about the all-male secret society that he and his friends belong to, Frankie infiltrates the society in order to enliven their mediocre pranks.

Lucy and Linh by Alice Pung

(Children PZ7.P98 Lu 2016)

“Lucy is a bit of a pushover, but she’s ambitious and smart, and she has just received the opportunity of a lifetime: a scholarship to a prestigious school, and a ticket out of her broken-down suburb. Though she’s worried she will stick out like badly cut bangs among the razor-straight students, she is soon welcomed into the Cabinet, the supremely popular trio who wield influence over classmates and teachers alike. Linh is blunt, strong-willed, and fearless—everything Lucy once loved about herself. She is also Lucy’s last solid link to her life before private school, but she is growing tired of being eclipsed by the glamour of the Cabinet. As Lucy floats further away from the world she once knew, her connection to Linh—and to her old life—threatens to snap. Sharp and honest, Alice Pung’s novel examines what it means to grow into the person you want to be without leaving yourself behind.” — Provided by publisher

Informational

Tinker vs. Des Moines: Student Protest by Leah Farish

(Children KF228.T56 F37 1997)

Considers the landmark case that dealt with the rights of students to wear arm bands to protest U.S. involvement in the Vietnam War.

The Forbidden Schoolhouse: The True and Dramatic Story of Prudence Crandall and Her Students by Suzanne Jurmain

(Children LA2317.C73 J87 2005)

Narrative nonfiction, supplemented by black-and-white photographs and engravings, about Prudence Crandall’s school for African American girls opened in 1833.

Poetry

Miss Crandall’s School for Young Ladies & Little Misses of Color by Elizabeth Alexander & Marilyn Nelson; pictures by Floyd Cooper

(Children PS3551.L3494 M57 2007)

The story of Prudence Crandall’s school for African American girls, told in verse.

Locomotion by Jacqueline Woodson

(Children PS3573.O64524 L63 2003)

In a series of poems, eleven-year-old Lonnie writes about his life, after the death of his parents, separated from his younger sister, living in a foster home, and finding his poetic voice at school.