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August YFE Staff Picks: Back to School

It's that time of year - back to school is just around the corner! CHPL Youth & Family Staff have you covered with this list featuring favorite school-themed reads for kids of all ages. From beloved classics to new favorites, you're sure to find a great read to get back into the school spirit.

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32 items

  • It's the first day of school for Afua! There's no one word to name her feelings. Is she scared? Excited? Oh wait, she's scarecited! Her own combination of both. Why should she have to choose?
    Book, 2025New York, NY : Farrar Straus Giroux, 2025 — PIC Agostini
  • Instilled with confidence by her parents, a young girl has a great first day of kindergarten.
    Book, 2022New York : Nancy Paulsen Books, 2022 — PIC Barnes
  • An ensemble cast of characters in one classroom experiences the first week of school--including one unexpected visitor.
    Book, 2024New York : Atheneum Books for Young Readers, [2024] — PIC Beckmeye
  • The evening before the first day means laying out your outfit, loading up your backpack, and filling a lunch box with your favorite things. When the alarm goes off, there's Dad's extra-special breakfast (and, of course, some picture-taking), then…
    Book, 2023Somerville, Massachusetts : Candlewick Press, 2023 — PIC Brenner
  • A young boy starting school feels intimidated when he sees all the big kids, but a new buddy helps him settle in.
    Book, 2025New York, NY : Little, Brown and Company, 2025 — PIC Going
  • It’s the first day of school at Grand Slam Elementary, and there is much to do before the Twins can step up to the plate! After putting on their uniforms, fueling up for the day, and doing an equipment check, the kids are ready to slide into first…
    Book, 2025New York, N.Y. : Viking, an imprint of Penguin Random House LLC, 2025 — PIC Hegedus
  • Ramón is worried about his first day at a new school, but it helps to remind El Cucuy, the monster who lives in his cactus pot, of how brave and strong they both are.
    Book, 2021New York : Abrams Books for Young Readers, 2021 — PIC Higuera
  • Faizah relates how she feels on the first day her sister, sixth-grader Asiya, wears a hijab to school.
    Book, 2019New York ; Boston : Little, Brown and Company, 2019 — PIC Muhammad
  • Illustrations and simple, rhyming text introduce a school where diversity is celebrated and songs, stories, and talents are shared.
    Book, 2018New York : Alfred A. Knopf, 2018 — PIC Penfold
  • The first day of school can be a little bit nerve-wracking, but Chester the racoon and his mom show us a way that makes it a little bit easier.
    Book, 1993Washington, D.C. : Child Welfare League of America, [1993] — PIC Penn
  • Did you know that schools get nervous about the first day, too? Read all about Frederick Douglass Elementary's worries (and how he overcomes them!) in this colorfully illustrated picture book.
    Book, 2016New York : Roaring Brook Press, 2016 — PIC Rex
  • On the first day of school, a girl learns how the giant butterflies in her stomach mean she's learning and growing.
    Book, 2023New York : G. P. Putnam's Sons, 2023 — PIC Roberts
  • There's a lot to check off on the back-to-school list. Lunchbox? Check. Notebook? Paper? Glue stick? Check. Check. Check. But school supplies aren't the only thing we bring with us. We also bring along our feelings!
    Book, 2024New York, NY : Clarion Books, an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers, [2024] — PIC Sobel
  • Our favorite pigeon confronts his anxieties about going to school in this hilarious picture book.
    Book, 2019New York : Hyperion Books for Children, an imprint of Disney Book Group, 2019 — PIC Willems
  • Other students laugh when Rigoberto, an immigrant from Venezuela, introduces himself but later, he meets Angelina and discovers that he is not the only one who feels like an outsider.
    Book, 2018New York, NY : Nancy Paulsen Books, 2018 — PIC Woodson
  • A six-year-old girl prepares for the first day of school and all the feelings that come with it.
    Book, 2024New York : Random House, [2024] — ER Carb
  • Learn all about what happens on the first day of school in this fun and bright early reader- students will play, learn, make new friends, and so much more! The possibilities are all cheerfully realized and represented in this nonfiction title.
    Book, 2019New York : Simon Spotlight, 2019 — EJN 372.12 Capu
  • How do children around the world spend their first day of school? Some eat warm akara for breakfast in Nigeria, while others unwrap lunches of kluski in Poland. In China, they practice intricate characters in special notebooks, and in Argentina,…
    Book, 2025New York, NY : Versify, an imprint of HarperCollinsPublishers, [2025] — J 371.002 Zobo
  • Lighten things up a little with this short collection of school-themed jokes & puns.
    Book, 2020New York : Harper, an imprint of Harper Collins Publishers, 2020 — J 818.602 Elli
  • Bulldozer is nervous about his first day of school, but at the end of the day he decides it is not so bad.
    Book, 2025New York : Little, Brown and Company, 2025 — EJF Broa