Picture Book Thursday: Back to School!

Unfortunately, this feature is becoming more of a monthly item. But I'm hoping as the school year gets underway that I have a bit more time and can post more often. I have three books today that could fall into the "Back to School" category.

This School Year Will Be the Best! by Kay Winters is a fun little book perfect for the start of school! This one might be especially good for early grade teachers to read for story time. The children in one classroom each tell what they hope for the school year. Some are realistic things like getting a good report card, kicking the soccer ball into the right goal, or winning the science fair. And others are a little more far-fetched: hoping there is a chocolate water fountain or having a skateboard day. At the end, the teacher's hope is that she gets to know each one of the students. A great book for discussing YOUR child's hopes for the upcoming school year. And very fitting, my homework assignment this week for my first grader is to write down what our hopes and dreams are for her for first grade. :-)

David Milgrin's How You Got So Smart starts with a baby learning about everything by observing his/her world, then exploring it and tasting it bit by bit. Then, moves on to children making friends, asking questions, expressing themselves, and being confident in who they are. This book might actually be more appropriate as an end of year book. It could even be a graduation present a la Dr. Suess' Oh, The Places You Will Go. However, I'll feature it here because I think kids need to be reminded at the start of the year about everything they have learned and done so they can continue to be confident. Each year brings new challenges and if they are reminded of all the past challenges they've conquered, then maybe facing the new ones won't seem so hard.

Dewey: There's a Cat in the Library! by Vicki Myron and Bret Witter isn't really related to back to school, but it's about books and therefore, relates to school for me. Okay, that was a stretch but go with it! ;-) This is a cute picture book showing how Dewey tries to help people because he's a Library Cat. He helps shelve the books, helps read stories to the children and helps a sad little girl smile again. If your child is a big fan of cats/kittens this is a perfect book for them with highly realistic illustrations by Steve James.

Have you read any great books for back to school with your children? I'd love to hear what you've been reading! Happy New School Year!

Source Disclosure: This School Year Will Be the Best and How You Got So Smart both came to me from the Penguin Group. Dewey arrived via Little, Brown and Company.