Books for Kids Starting Kindergarten

The first day of school is a shared experience so potent, many grown-ups — including this one — still have weird dreams about it decades later (who says the monoculture is dead?). The joys and anxieties of this rite of passage are fertile ground for storytelling, which has led to a lot of excellent books on the topic. But while the first-day experience is about as ubiquitous as they come, how children navigate the milestone is as varied as the colors in that gigantic Crayola box that we all coveted in kindergarten. These are a few of my favorite back-to-school books for children as they start their K-12 journey.

Never, Not Ever!

Written and illustrated by Beatrice Alemagna

While some kids are excited to enter the hallowed halls of kindergarten, do not underestimate the willpower of a child who absolutely does not want to go to school. Pascaline, a 5-year-old bat, is so determined to avoid the classroom that, by the sheer force of her defiance, she accidentally shrinks her mom and dad — and then realizes that her peanut-sized parents can provide some much-needed company as she heads off into the unknown. As Pascaline’s confidence is buoyed by her secret companions, her parents come to understand that a day at school isn’t quite as easy as they thought. Alemagna’s rich, playful art further highlights the wit of the text.

Shy Robin and the First Day of School

Written and illustrated by Jaime Kim

Even the smallest gesture of kindness can transform an anxiety-filled first day into a hopeful new beginning. Robin the hippo is feeling some major first-day-of-school nerves, which she attempts to assuage with a security item: a purple headband with a bow. When her headband goes missing, things begin to go downhill, until her classmate Marco steps up and shares his own humble comfort talisman: a purple bracelet that plants the seed of a blossoming friendship.