Our Favorite Back to School Picture Books

My 2nd grader had her first day of school yesterday! She was beyond excited and so ready to be back. Even with all the new safety measures with masks and physical distancing, she had a great first day! (She is also one of the most optimistic and outgoing kids I've ever met, so I wasn't surprised!) My 5-year-old doesn't start Kindergarten until next week, and I'm a little more anxious about how his first day will go since everything will be new to him! In preparation, we've been reading some of our favorite back to school picture books! 

School's First Day of School by Adam Rex and Christian Robinson. What would the first day of school be like for a brand new school building? For kids who are nervous for the first day of school, this book is especially delightful, leading kids to imagine if the school itself feels nervous! Read my full review here.

The Day You Begin by Jaqueline Woodson and Rafael Lopez. It's hard to be different, especially on the first day of school. This beautiful book reminds us that whether we speak a different language, wear different clothes, or eat different foods, we all can make room for each other.

We Don't Eat Our Classmates by Ryan T. Higgins. Penelope Rex is excited to start school, but is surprised when all of her classmates are children! So she eats them. (Because children are delicious.) This laugh-out-loud story is one of our very favorites!

The King of Kindergarten by Derek Barnes and Vanessa Brantley-Newton. The enthusiasm this little protagonist feels on his first day of school is contagious! This is a great one to get kids pumped up for school!

The Pigeon Has To Go To School! by Mo Willems. We love all the Pigeon books, and this one is yet another winner. My kids love all of Pigeon's ridiculous reasons for not wanting to go to school, and can't help giggling when he realizes school is the very place he wants to be!

The Cool Bean by Jory John and Pete Oswald. The Cool Bean tells the story of a bean who wants to be like the gang of "cool beans" at school. He tries cool clothes and hair styles before realizing that what makes the cool beans so cool is their kindness. Such an important message for kids--it's cool to be kind!

Maple and Willow Apart When Maple goes to school, Willow feels sad to be left behind. But even though they are each having new adventures apart, the sisters learn they will always have special times to share together. This is a great one for younger siblings!

Truman by Jean Reidy and Lucy Ruth Cummins. This is an adorable story about a little girl and her pet tortoise who both have to be brave on her first day of school.

Be Kind! by Pat Zietlow Miller and Jen Hill. While not specifically about back-to-school, this is my favorite book for teaching kids about kindness! Whether it's as simple as saying hi or as difficult as standing up to a bully, one kind act can inspire others, spreading kindness throughout the world!

Speak Up! by Miranda Paul and Ebony Glen. Published just this year, this book has such a powerful message for kids, especially in a school setting! Written in rhyming verse, the story teaches kids when it is important to speak up--whether it's to include someone new, stop an unkind rumor, or to tell an adult about an unsafe situation. I especially love the end pages that include examples of real life kids who have spoken up to make a difference. It also has a checklist to help kids recognize when they should "be quiet, let it go" or "speak up, let others know!"and a list of ways to speak up without saying a word!

What books do you like to read to your kids at the beginning of the school year?

Top Ten Books About Trains!

I don't know exactly why, but trains are magical things to kids. Maybe it's the sound effects. Maybe it's the novelty. (My kids have only ridden on a real train maybe twice in their lives.) Maybe it's how looonnngg they can be how you wonder when the end will come as you watch car after car rumble through a train crossing. Whatever the reason, kids love trains! And they love books about trains! So without further ado, her are our top ten favorite books about trains!

1. Train! by Judi Abbot. When his parents take him for a ride on a real train, Little Elephant is so excited...until he meets a cat who prefers planes and a penguin who only plays with cars. The familiar little-kid obsession with trains and things that go, combined with rhythmic text and bright illustrations make book a favorite of toddlers and preschoolers!

2. Freight Train by Donald Crews. The rainbow-colored train and simple text make this classic train book perfect for even the youngest readers. It's on my list of best board books for babies. 

3. Trains Go! by Steve Light. Going beyond "choo choo," this extra-wide board book features the sounds of every train from diesel to steam to speed trains! We love the bright primary colors and fun onomatopoeia in this and the rest of the "things that go" board book series!

4. The Little Engine That Could  Would any train book list be complete without it? This story of can-do attitude and perseverance is a classic for good reason! I love reading this one aloud using different voices for each of the trains.

5. Shark vs Train by Christ Barton and Tom Lichtenheld. In a head-to-head competition, who would win, a shark or a train? Well, that depends...are they selling lemonade, playing ping pong, or going off the high dive? This imaginative who-would-win book is plenty silly and tons of fun!

6. Trains Don't Sleep by Andria Rosenbaum and Deirdre Gill. This book takes you on a gentle train ride through day and night. The rhythmic rhymes and lovely illustration make this book a perfect bedtime read.

7. Train by Elisha Cooper. A bit lengthier than the standard picture book, this one is best for older readers with longer attention-spans. But if they love trains, they will love this book! Packed with information, this book takes you on a winding journey, hopping from commuter train, to passenger train, to freight train, to high-speed train. I love the beautiful water-color illustrations and the imagery of the text!

8. Locomotive by Brian Floca. Winner of the Caldecott medal and a Robert F. Sibert honor book, Locomotive is a cross-continental journey on the first American railway. Both lyrical and informative, this is a non-fiction, historical picture book masterpiece! Again, this one is a longer read and best for older kids and those who are genuinely fascinated by trains and history!

9. The Christmas Tree Who Loved Trains by Annie Silvestro and Paola Zakimi. A little pine trees lives by a train track and loves hearing the trains rumble past. When she is dug up and taken to live in a family's home, she misses hearing the trains...until she realizes that the little boy in her new home loves trains just as much as she does. We discovered this sweet little story last Christmas and instantly fell in love.

10. The Polar Express by Chris Van Allsburg. Another timeless classic, The Polar Express captures the wonder and magic of both trains and the Christmas season. This one always gives me tingles at the end!

Did I miss any? What are your favorite books about trains?

Mrs. Peter's Birthday Cake

SEVEN SILLY EATERS by Mary Ann Hoberman and Marla Frazee is one of my all-time favorite picture books and one of the first books I reviewed on my blog. After re-reading the book last week, my five-year-old asked if we could make Mrs. Peter's birthday cake. I'm not much of a baker, but I found a recipe on Mary Ann Hoberman's website and we tried it out today! It didn't turn out quite as pink as we wanted so we made pink frosting (very lumpy pink frosting because we weren't patient enough to wait for the butter to soften 😉). But even though it didn't turn out too pretty, it was lots of fun to make and actually pretty tasty too!

Spring Fling Kidlit Contest

I am so excited to share my entry for the Spring Fling Kidlit Contest! The contest rules are to find a spring-related gif and use it as the inspiration to write a story for kids in under 150 words! The word count was a good challenge for me, as my writing tends to be too wordy. I am learning that with picture books, more is less! The first draft of my story was almost 400 words, and I didn't think there was any way I could cut it down to 150. But I managed to do it, and do you know what? I like it even better than the original. I hope you enjoy it too!

Made to Fly

I feel the breeze and quiver with excitement. Maya unwinds my string. “Ready?” she asks. I can’t wait. She starts running. Her dad throws me into the air. I fly up, up, up. Then I look down. Maya is so far away. I panic. And fall.

Maya picks me up and runs again, but I don’t even try. Run, throw…flop. Run, throw…flop. Maya picks me up and says, “Kite, listen to me. You don’t belong here on the ground. You belong in the sky. You were made to fly!”

Maya starts running. This time, I don’t look at the ground. I look up at the sky. I let the wind lift me higher and higher toward the clouds. I am flying! I hear Maya cheering, and I look down. She is tiny, but I am not scared now. I am where I belong. I was made to fly!

*Kite gif is from YouTube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r7yezRhh-F4

Top Ten Picture Books About Trucks!

Is there a preschooler on the planet who doesn't run to the front window when a garbage truck comes rumbling down the street? Or who doesn't light up when a firetruck whizzes past? Or who doesn't yell "DIGGER!" when driving past a construction site? If there is, I have yet to meet one! Kids love trucks. They're big, loud, and should be scary, but little kids are fascinated by them! There are dozens of picture books out there about all different types of trucks, but here is a list of our very favorites.

1. Digger, Dozer, Dumper by Hope Vestergaard and David Slonim. I'm putting this one first because it's my very favorite and a lot of people have never heard of it! It came out just a couple years after the very popular Goodnight, Goodnight Construction Site, and while they are both rhyming books about trucks, I think Digger, Dozer, Dumper is even better.  The poems are so beautifully crafted and packed full of information about the function and mechanics of each truck. I also love the illustrations and how each truck has a distinct personality. For my full review, click here.

2. Supertruck by Steven Savage. The garbage truck has the least glamorous job of all the trucks...he just collects the trash. But when a big snow storm hits, the humble garbage truck dons a scoop and transforms into SUPERTRUCK, rescuing the other vehicles stuck in the snow. This brief and clever picture book is just super! (My favorite part is how the garbage truck wears glasses, but when he turns into SUPERTRUCK they mysteriously disappear, just like Clark Kent/Superman.)

3. Monster Trucks by Joy Keller and Misa Saburi. This rhyming picture book combines two things kids love...monsters and trucks. Each monster drives a different type of truck that suits it's personality...the werewolf mans the digger, the yeti drives a snowplow, and the witch rides a street sweeper! I also love how the ending tells kids not to worry about monsters hiding in their rooms at night because they're much too tired and have all gone to bed. This book is tons of fun and very kid-accessible.

4. Little Blue Truck by Alice Schertle and Jill McElmurry. This book is immensely popular and for good reason. Its bouncy rhyming text, cheerful illustrations, and themes of kindness and teamwork make this book a favorite of both kids and parents.

5. Five Trucks by Brian Floca.  This book is a very quick read, but it's so genius because of the way it creates suspense, keeping the reader wondering about how the five trucks work together. (Spoiler alert: they all help an airplane get ready for take-off!)

6. Bulldozer Helps Out by Candace Fleming and Eric Rohman. Bulldozer just wants to help out at the construction site, but all the other trucks say he isn't big enough or tough enough. But when a special task needs to be done, Bulldozer just might be the perfect truck for the job! This is a super cute one and sends the important message that no one is too small to do big jobs!

7. Katy the Snowplow by Virginia Burton.  This one is a classic that is just as good today as it was 50 years ago. When a big blizzard buries the city of Geoppolis under a thick blanket of snow, Katy, the biggest tractor with the biggest plow, is the only one who can save the day. Like many older picture books, this one is a bit longer than most PBs published today, but the story and illustrations are engaging enough that my preschooler requests this one again and again.

8. Trucks Go by Steve Light. This board book is one of a series of vehicle books, which are all fantastic and on my list of best books for babies. The bright primary colors and onomatopoeia make these books tons of fun for the littlest readers.

9. Small Walt by Elizabeth Verdick and Marc Rosenthal. I seem to really love snowplow books, because this is the third one on the list! Walt is the smallest of all the snowplows and always gets picked last to scoop the snow from the streets. When he gets his chance to prove himself, Walt is determined not to give up no matter how deep the snow or how high the hill! This is a great story about the power of positive thinking, and I love the lyrical elements in the text. We also love the sequel, Small Walt and Mo the Tow.

10. Truck Stop by Anna Rockwell & Melissa Iwai. A little boy wakes up before dawn each day to help his parents and uncle open the truck stop they own. He watches for all the regulars, including a big 18-wheeler, a milk truck, and a tow truck. Each of the drivers come inside for their usual breakfasts which the boy knows by heart. But Green Gus, one of the regular trucks, is missing. Will the boy be able to help Green Gus and his driver make it to the truck stop? I love the collage-style illustrations, and the warm feeling of community that this story generates. It also makes me hungry for breakfast food! ;)