Picture Books about Starting School

Starting school is big step for both you and your child. Children’s picture books about starting school can help reassure children and help ease worries by familiarizing them with their new routine. Reading these books or books like them gives you the opportunity to talk through any fear or concern your child has and talk about the fun and exciting things that lie ahead. Don’t know where to start? Borrow ‘starting school’ books from your local library, and ask your librarian for recommendations or take this list with you to check out some of Raising Readers’ favorites.

Look for these doctor recommended books about starting school or childcare:

1. Maisy Goes to Preschool

By Lucy Cousins
Candlewick Press
ISBN 9780763650865
Paperback, $6.99
Preschool for Maisy means a day filled with friends and things to do, from the time she hangs up her coat to the time she says good-bye.
Ages 1-4 years

2. My First Day at Nursery School

By Becky Edwards & Illustrated by Anthony Flintoft
Bloomsbury USA
ISBN 9781582349091
Paperback, $6.95
On the first day of preschool, a little girl misses her mother, but on the second day, after having so much fun, she is excited to go back.
Ages 2-4 years.

3. Ready and Waiting for You

By Judi Moreillon & Illustrated by Catherine Stock
Eerdmans Publishing
ISBN 9780802853554
Hardcover, $17.00
A reassuring tale with bright colors and interactive flaps depicts welcoming educational environments.
Ages 4-7 years.

4. Dinosaur Starts School

By Pamela Duncan Edwards & Illustrated by Deborah Allwright
Albert Whitman & Co.
ISBN 9780807516010
Paperback, $6.99
A little boy helps his dinosaur friend overcome his fears of the first day of school.
Ages 3-6 years.

5. Countdown to Kindergarten

By Alison McGhee & Illustrated by Harry Bliss
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
ISBN 9780152055868
Paperback, $6.00
Ten days before the start of kindergarten, a preschooler cannot tie her shoes by herself and fears the worst.
Ages 4-6 years.

6. You’re Wearing That to School?!

By Lynne Plourde & Illustrated by Sue Cornelison
Disney Press
ISBN 9781423155102
Hardcover, $16.99
A cautious mouse gives advice to his exuberant hippopotamus friend about the first day of school.
Ages 4-6 years.

7. Wemberly Worried

By Kevin Henkes
HarperCollins Publishers
ISBN 9780061857768
Paperback, $6.99
Wemberly, who worries about everything, finds that she has a whole list of new things to worry about when she faces the first day of nursery school.
Ages 2-4 years.

Additional Lists and Resources

11 Picture Books About Starting School

Raising Readers’ Pinboard: Books about School: PreK and K

Ready or Not Kindergarten, Here We Come!

Transitioning to Kindergarten

This post was originally posted by Raising Readers in August 2017.