15 Picture Books for the First Day of School
There’s a lot for kids to be nervous and/or excited about on the first day of school: different routines, strange names and faces, lots of noise, and new rules. Little kids tend to approach the start of the school year in a very different manner from middle school and high school kids, partly because they don’t have as much personal experience to help guide themselves through the process. Books like these can help them figure out what to expect and how to deal with problems that might come up. Even if your little one is already looking forward to their first day, they’ll enjoy these back-to-school stories.
First Day of Preschool:
Preschool Here I Come by David Steinberg
Ming Goes to School by Deirdre Sullivan
The Night Before Preschool by Natasha Wing
I Love You All Day Long by Francesca Rusackas
Wemberly Worried by Kevin Henkes
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First Day of Kindergarten:
School’s First Day of School by Adam Rex
A New School Year: Stories in Six Voices by Sally Derby
The King of Kindergarten by Derrick Barnes
Pirates Don’t Go to Kindergarten by Lisa Robinson
Edda: A Little Valkyrie’s First Day of School by Adam Auerbach
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Transferring to a New School:
Goodbye, Friend! Hello, Friend! by Cori Doerrfeld
First Day Jitters by Julie Danneberg
Marshall Armstrong is New to Our School by David Mackintosh
Make Way for Dyamonde Daniel by Nikki Grimes
The Truth About Dragons by Jaime Zollars
– Cindy Thomas
Bilingual Story Time (Online) – Summer / El Verano
Hi, everyone! My name is Miss Haley, and I’m so happy you’re joining me today for bilingual story time at Fondulac District Library. Bilingual is a word that means more than one language, so that means we’ll be singing songs and reading books in English and Spanish today. Are you ready? Let’s go! ¡Vamos!
Song: Good Morning / Buenos dias
Tune: Frère Jacques
English Lyrics:
Good morning
Good morning
How are you?
How are you?
Very well, thank you
Very well thank you
And you?
And you?
Spanish Lyrics:
Buenos dias
Buenos dias
¿Como estas?
¿Como estas?
Muy bien, gracias
Muy bien, gracias
¿Y usted?
¿Y usted?
Credit: Jack Hartmann Kids Music Channel
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Song: Open, Shut Them / Abre, cierra
English Lyrics:
Open, shut them
Open, shut them
Give a little clap, clap, clap
Open, shut them
Open, shut them
Put them in your lap, lap, lap
Creep them, crawl them,
creep them, crawl them
right up to your chin, chin, chin
Open wide your little mouth, but…
Do not put them in!
Credit: Jbrary YouTube Channel
Spanish Lyrics:
Abre, cierra
Abre, cierra
Da una palmadita, -ta
Abre, cierra
Abre, cierra
Mantenlas juntitas, -tas
Sube, sube, sube, sube
Hasta la barbilla, -lla
Abre la boquita pero…
¡No metas los dedos!
Credit: NCO Bilingual Storytime
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Felt Board Activity: Five Green and Speckled Frogs
English Song Lyrics:
Five green and speckled frogs
Sat on a speckled log
Eating the most delicious bugs
Yum, yum!
One jumped into the pool
Where it was nice and cool
Then there were four green speckled frogs
Glub, glub
(Count down from 5 to 1)
Credit: Jbrary
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Book: The Whale in My Swimming Pool
Written and illustrated by Joyce Wan and read with the permission of Macmillan Publishers.
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Book: And Then Comes Summer & Entonces llega el verano
Written by Tom Brenner, illustrated by Jaime Kim, and read with the permission of Candlewick Press.
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Song: The Waves on the Beach
English Lyrics:
The waves on the beach go up and down,
up and down, up and down,
The waves on the beach go up and down
All day long
The crabs on the beach go snap, snap, snap.
The sand on the beach goes swish, swish, swish.
Credit: Jbrary
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Song: Vamos a la mar / Let’s Go to the Sea
English Lyrics:
Let’s go to the sea, tun, tun,
To eat a lot of fish, tun tun,
Fried and barbequed, tun, tun,
In a wooden dish, tun, tun.
Let’s go to the sea, tun, tun,
To eat a lot of fish, tun tun,
A shiny red-mouthed, tun, tun,
In a wooden dish, tun, tun.
Spanish Lyrics:
Vamos a la mar, tun, tun,
A comer pescado, tun tun,
Fritito y asado, tun, tun,
En sartén de palo, tun tun.
Vamos a la mar, tun, tun,
A comer pescado, tun tun,
Boca colorada, tun, tun,
En sartén de palo, tun tun.
Credit: Alina Celeste
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Book: Paletero Man
Written by Lucky Diaz, illustrated by Micah Player, and read with the permission of Harper Collins Publishing.
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Craft: Make Your Own Paletas (Popsicles)!
Pick up a craft kit at the library while supplies last.
Included in kit:
- One piece of cardboard
- Two popsicle sticks
- Four paper paleta shapes
- One bag of pom poms
- One bag of sequins
Supplies needed at home:
- Glue
- Coloring utensils
- Scissors
Instructions:
- (Adult supervision/assistance recommended) CUT out all four paleta
- TRACE two of the paleta shapes onto the cardboard. We’ll be making two paletas
- (Adult assistance recommended) CUT the paleta shapes out of the cardboard.
- COLOR the four paper paleta I chose two designs so I could have the same paleta design on each side, but you can do four designs if you want!
- GLUE one popsicle stick to any side of each cardboard paleta
- GLUE the paper paleta shapes onto the cardboard paleta
- (Optional) GLUE pompoms and sequins to one or both sides of your paletas. You may need to let one side dry before you apply glue and decorations to the back side.
- PLAY! You can set up a popsicle stand and hand out delicious, cold treats just like the Paletero
Credit: Creating Creatives
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Song: The Goodbye Song
English Lyrics:
Goodbye
So long
To you
My friend
Stay well
And fine
Til we meet
Again
Spanish Lyrics:
Adios
Adios
A ti
Mi amigo
Cuídate
Muy bien
Nos vemos
Otra vez
Credit: Burlington Specials
More Children’s Books About Summertime and Cold Treats:
Bilingual Books:
- Summer = Verano written by Ailie Busby and illustrated by Teresa Mlawer
- What Can You Do With a Paleta? = ¿Qué puedes hacer con una paleta? written by Carmen Tafolla and illustrated by Magaly Morales
- Veo el Verano = I See Summer written by Charles Chigna and illustrated by Ag Jatkowska
- Señorita Mariposa written by Ben Gundersheimer (Mister G) and illustrated by Marcos Almada Rivero
- In Summer = En Verano written by Susana Madinabeitia Manso and illustrated by Emily Hanako Momohara
- Agua, Agüita / Water, Little Water written by Jorge Tetl Argueta, illustrated by Felipe Ugalde Alcántara, and translated by Gabriela Baeza (Also includes a Nahuat language translation!)
English Books with Spanish Versions:
- If You Want to See a Whale & Si quieres ver una ballena written by Julie Fogliano and illustrated by Erin E. Stead
- Sun & Sol written and illustrated by Carol Thompson
- Lola Plants a Garden & Lola planta un jardin written by Anna McQuinn, illustrated by Rosalind Bearshaw, and translated by Carlos E. Calvo
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Mango Languages App:
Did you know that we have an app available on our that can help you and your child learn a new language? It’s called Mango, and you can sign up for free using your library card number. Check it out by clicking here!
– Miss Haley, Youth Services Assistant
FDL Reads: Klara and the Sun
Klara and the Sun by Kazuo Ishiguro
Reviewed by: Beth Weimer, Communications Specialist
Genre: Fiction, Sci-Fi
Suggested Age: Adults, Teens
What is the book about?: In a not so distant and slightly dystopian future, an Artificial Friend waits in a store window, hoping to be selected by a lonely child. Klara’s exceptional observational skills lead her to be chosen by sweet Josie, who suffers from a mysterious illness. As Josie’s caring companion, Klara serves the family loyally and fulfills her purpose, witnessing the love, grief, and tensions within the household as they all try to navigate the machinations of a society ruthlessly using technology to avoid its own ‘slow fade.’
My Review: I wanted to love this book as I did Never Let Me Go, and I appreciate the premise and Ishiguro’s deliberate style, but it just never clicked for me. The amount of detail paid to certain irrelevant elements was frustrating, when the most interesting aspects of the story are barely mentioned and never explained. Ultimately, I couldn’t get over the disconnect of having an AI – programmed with enough intelligence to learn human emotions and advanced science – who isn’t equipped with the basic understanding that they are solar powered and therefore invents their own mythology. Maybe that’s intentional, to illustrate how individual knowledge is limited and we all just fill in our own narrative/explanation of events and experiences, but that (and the perfect anti-climax) felt a bit lazy. The book does touch on interesting themes of life/death/technology and Klara provides an interesting perspective on the human condition, so most readers will probably still find it interesting and worthwhile.
Three Words That Describe This Book: Detailed, Strange, Bittersweet
Give This a Try if You Like… Never Let Me Go by Kazua Ishiguro; Cloud Atlas by David Mitchell; I, Robot by Isaac Asimov
Rating: 3/5
#FDL: Books about Libraries and Librarians
Fiction
The Book Charmer by Karen Hawkins
The Borrower by Rebecca Makkai
Check Me Out by Becca Wilhite
Deal with the Devil by Kit Rocha
Her Perfect Affair by Priscilla Oliveras
The Lending Library by Aliza Fogelson
The Plotters by Un-Su Kim
Summer Hours at the Robbers Library by Susan Halpern
Upright Women Wanted by Sarah Gailey
Weather by Jenny Offill
The Giver of Stars by Jojo Moyes
Nonfiction
Dear Fahrenheit 451: Love and Heartbreak in the Stacks by Annie Spence
Freedom Libraries: The Untold Story of Libraries for African Americans in the South by Mike Selby
Information Hunters: When Librarians, Soldiers, and Spies Banded Together in World War II Europe, by Kathy Peiss
The Library: A Catalogue of Wonders, by Stuart Kells
The Library Book, by Susan Orlean
Reading Behind Bars: A Memoir of Literature, Law, and Life as a Prison Librarian, by Jill Grunenwald
–Post by Susie Rivera, Reference Specialist
#FDL is an update on all things Fondulac District Library and books.
FDL Reads: Merlin’s Harp
Merlin’s Harp by Anne Elliot Crompton
Reviewed by: Susie Rivera, Reference Specialist
Genre: Fantasy
Suggested Age: Adult
What is the book about?: Merlin’s Harp is an Arthurian fantasy retelling from the point of view of the Fey. More specifically, the novel tells the story of King Arthur through the eyes of Nivienne, the daughter of the Lady of the Lake. Nivienne grows up on Apple Island (Avalon) with her mother and brother Lugh. Merlin visits occasionally, telling stories about the kingdom outside their forest. Nivienne is not too concerned with Arthur until events begin to threaten the peace of the island. Merlin, who has taken Nivienne as his apprentice mage, takes her into Camelot and she witnesses events firsthand.
My Review: I love Arthurian legend and have read this several times. It’s a short read and well-written. You could read it without knowing many details about key events surrounding Arthur’s reign, but coming in knowing more makes the story and nuances a richer experience. I recommend this for those who are just getting in to Arthurian fantasy. It’s a great bridge to heftier novels, such as Marian Zimmer Bradley’s The Mist of Avalon.
Three Words That Describe This Book: Lyrical, tragic, magical
Give This a Try if You Like…The Mists of Avalon, The Crystal Cave (Merlin trilogy), Child of the Northern Spring (Guinevere trilogy)
Rating: 5/5
Back to School 2021
Back to School 2021
Whether students are learning in the classroom or online and at home, the library has resources available to help them reach their goals. Librarians can help with research or finding materials (even through online chat), and our online databases can help with language, reading, math, testing, news and journal articles, sociology and geography, and even life skills. And don’t forget the free Mango language learning app! The library also has computers, printers/ copiers, free WiFi, and study rooms available to help students complete homework, projects, or study sessions. Not to mention all our materials, like nonfiction and fiction books, eBooks and audiobooks, graphic novels, documentaries, STEM kits, and more that can help students dive deeper into the subjects they find interesting. FDL also has a variety of
homeschooling resources for families taking that route. Make sure your students have their own library cards to encourage their love of learning and success this year!