UBT Picks: Back- to-School Books

The anticipation of returning to school after a long lazy summer can be an exciting time for your little one. Whether it’s the first year in preschool or a return to grade school, it’s a highly anticipated time of year. Sometimes, the excitement also comes with nervousness or butterflies, especially if it’s the first time your child is away from you or they’re feeling anxious about school.

Luckily, I’ve put together a list of three of my fave books that you can read to your child approaching the first day of school. These books are perfect to ease those nerves, get your child excited about school, and bring joy and fun to the topic.

The first book is one of my personal favorites. It’s called The Kissing Hand by Audrey Penn. Get ready to break out the tissues, as I’m certain that you will find this to be just the cutest book you and your child will ever read. It tells a story of a small raccoon that is nervous to attend school. His mother responds by kissing his paw, and tells him that whenever he feels lonely, to press his paw to his face and know that his mommy loves him. Hence, the kissing hand. When you send your little one off to school, don’t forget to kiss their hand and press it to their face, and they’ll have their very own Kissing Hand! This book is great for any preschool or elementary aged child, and is sure to become a favorite in your child’s book collection.

The second book, called Kindergarten Rocks! It’s a fun tale about Dexter, who is excited but nervous about going to Kindergarten. With help from his sister Jessie, his stuffed dog Rufus, and his new teacher Ms. Sugarman, Dexter learns about how much fun he’s going to have learning new things in kindergarten. This is a perfect book for your child who is getting ready to attend his or her first year of elementary school, and it’s a fun and easy read for everyone. 

The final book was chosen by my four-year old, who is very into dinosaurs right now. Appropriately, it’s called How Do Dinosaurs Go to School? by Jane Yolan and Mark Teague. This is a great book for toddlers and preschoolers because of its bright illustrations and it’s full of interactive questions. It asks if the dinosaurs “race up the stairs right ahead of the bell?” and “does he growl during chalk talks and roar out of turn?” It made my kids giggle incessantly. It’s also great to teach your child all about the different types of dinosaurs, as they are listed at the front of the book, and it also describes all the fun stuff one might do during a day at school. 

What a fun way to spend an afternoon with my little girls – catching up on some reading and getting excited about back to school. Visit your local library to find more books that will help your child get enthusiastic about learning and school!

Melissa Collins is a coffee-loving, lip gloss collecting mother of two little ladies. When she’s not cleaning up cheerios and blogging about the humour in parenting, you can find her curled up in her hammock with a good book. Check her out at www.mellysmommymanual.com