First day of kindergarten books and read-alouds

The best first day of kindergarten books match what your child is feeling. For a nervous child, read Butterflies on the First Day of School by Annie Silvestro or Mae's First Day of School by Kate Berube. For an excited one, The Queen of Kindergarten by Derrick Barnes. To show what a school day looks like, try Lola Goes to School by Anna McQuinn. Teachers looking for a day-one read-aloud can start with All Are Welcome by Alexandra Penfold or School's First Day of School by Adam Rex. Every book below was checked against a public library catalog, so your library should have most of them.

This list skips the titles already in our first day of kindergarten guide and our first day of preschool books, so you will not find The Night Before Kindergarten or The Kissing Hand here. Use all three lists together.

Books for a nervous kindergartner

• Butterflies on the First Day of School by Annie Silvestro. Rosie has had her pencils sharpened and her backpack ready for weeks, but the night before kindergarten her tummy hurts. Her mom tells her it is just butterflies. Good for a child who is excited and scared at once.
• Mae's First Day of School by Kate Berube. Mae announces she is NOT going. With help from Rosie and Ms. Pearl, she finds her way into the day. A gentle book for a child who digs in their heels.
• I Am Too Absolutely Small for School by Lauren Child. Lola is worried about starting school, and her big brother Charlie talks her through it. Funny, and good for families with an older sibling who can play Charlie.
• Too Shy for Show-and-Tell by Beth Bracken. Sam is very shy, and talking in front of the class scares him. A good fit for a quiet child who dreads being looked at.

Books for a kid who can't wait

• The Queen of Kindergarten by Derrick Barnes. With her parents' confidence behind her, a girl has a great first day. A companion to The King of Kindergarten, which is in our other guide.
• Lola Goes to School by Anna McQuinn. Lola meets new friends and tries new things on a fun but tiring first day. It follows Lola and her family from getting ready the night before through the day itself, which helps a child picture it. There is a Spanish edition, Lola va a la escuela.
• How Do Dinosaurs Go to School? by Jane Yolen. Dinosaurs show how to behave (and how not to) during a school day. Silly, and a painless way to talk about classroom rules.
• The Twelve Days of Kindergarten by Deborah Lee Rose. A cumulative counting verse listing things in a kindergarten classroom from the alphabet to twelve eggs for hatching.

Name books for the first week

Kindergarten's first week is full of name tags and name games, and kids notice when a name is new to others. These three open that conversation.

• Chrysanthemum by Kevin Henkes. Chrysanthemum loves her name until other children at school make fun of it. A kind book about teasing.
• The Name Jar by Yangsook Choi. Unhei is new to the country and the school, and wonders whether to choose a new name. Good for any class, and especially one with children who speak more than one language at home.
• Alma and How She Got Her Name by Juana Martinez-Neal. Alma asks why she has so many names and hears the story of each one. A natural start to a "the story of my name" family homework page.

Read-alouds for teachers on day one

If you are a kindergarten teacher, these work well on the rug on the first morning or during the first week.

Book	Why it works on day one
All Are Welcome by Alexandra Penfold	Simple rhyming text about a school where everyone belongs. Sets the tone for the year
A Letter From Your Teacher: On the First Day of School by Shannon Olsen	Written as a letter from the teacher to the new class
School's First Day of School by Adam Rex	It is the school building that is nervous. A fresh angle on first-day nerves
First Day Jitters by Julie Danneberg	Sarah is afraid to start at a new school, and the ending has a surprise. Don't spoil it
The Day You Begin by Jacqueline Woodson	Quieter and more reflective. Better later in the week or for older kindergartners

The Day You Begin follows a boy named Rigoberto, whose classmates laugh when he introduces himself, until he meets a girl who also feels like an outsider. It opens up good talk about feeling different.

How to use these books at home

Reading together a few weeks before school starts is one of the easiest ways to make kindergarten feel familiar. The American Academy of Pediatrics' policy statement on literacy says reading aloud with young children strengthens parent-child relationships and helps prepare them to learn language and early literacy skills, and it recommends encouraging shared reading at least until kindergarten entry. Our guide to reading together covers more of the why.

A few ways to make school books count:

• Ask what the character feels, then what your child feels. "Rosie's tummy hurt. Does yours ever feel like that?" The AAP's back-to-school tips suggest asking a nervous child what they are worried about and helping them problem-solve.
• Point out that teachers expect nerves. The same AAP page says teachers know students may be nervous on the first day and make an extra effort to help everyone feel comfortable. Books like First Day Jitters make the point for you.
• Pair a book with a visit. The AAP suggests visiting the new school or classroom beforehand and rehearsing the new situation. Read Lola Goes to School, then walk past the real door.
• Keep the school book in the bedtime stack. The AAP's tips suggest shifting to earlier bedtimes a week or two before school starts, and reading is a calm part of that routine.
• Let them choose the repeat. If one book becomes the favorite, that is the one doing the work.

Make a book about their own first day

The book many kindergartners like best is one about themselves: their school, their teacher's name, their route, their lunchbox. A few stapled pages with photos and one line each are enough. Our guide to writing a short story for your child shows how, and you can turn the photos into coloring pages for free. If you would rather have it drawn for you, Colorkin is one option among several. Either way, read it the week before and again on the first morning.

More guides for starting school, new siblings and other changes are in big moments.

Questions parents ask