Best Back To School Books For The First Day Of Preschool And Pre-k

Books for the Beginning of the Year in Preschool

Is reading a pre k book aloud to your class in the beginning of the year like playing whack-a-mole? Forget classroom management; everybody keeps popping up wanting to explore. The beginning of the year in pre-k and kindergarten is tough, no matter how prepared you think you may be or how experienced you are. But these back to school books for your pre-k and kindergarten classroom are both fun and educational.

Books for the Beginning of the Year in Preschool

Best First Day of Preschool/Pre-K Books

One trick I have found to be very successful is to keep your read aloud sessions short and sweet by choosing high-quality picture books that are both fun and educational. Reading these types of picture books from the very first day of school and beyond is going to help keep your students interested and engaged for longer periods of time.

Some back to school pre k books may not be the best choices for reading aloud at the beginning of the school year because they may not be the right fit for the ages and attention spans of your students at that time.

My back to school book list here consists of just a few suggestions, I’m sure there are many others that could be included. And don’t forget to check out our Back to School Bundle to make going back to school a breeze!

All are Welcome
All Are Welcome by Alexandra Penfold
Celebrate diversity and inclusion from day 1 with this New York Times Bestselling picture book!

Our Class is a Family by Shannon Olsen
Help your students experience a sense of belonging and acceptance with the ultimate read-aloud for building a strong classroom community.

How do dinosaurs go to school

Books About Going to School

How Do Dinosaurs Go to School? by Jane Yolen and Mark Teague

Monsters Love School, by Mike Austin

Lola Goes to School
Lola Goes to School, by Anna McQuinn
Join adorable Lola for a comforting and cheerful first day of school that will set your little ones minds at ease.

Froggy Goes to School, by Jonathan London

The Night Before Preschool, by Natasha Wing

David Goes to School
David Goes to School, by David Shannon

Mouse’s First Day of School, by Lauren Thompson

Brown Bear

Books that Rhyme

These back to school pre-k books make the perfect read-alouds the first week of school. It’s super important to choose books that will grab your student’s attention and hold it – especially in the beginning of the school year! Choosing books that rhyme are the perfect choice!

Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See? by Bill Martin Jr. and Eric Carle
Generations of young children have adored this timeless classic that’s perfect for the start of the school year in preschool!

Pete the Cat: I Love My White Shoes, by Eric Litwin
If there was a music chart for the Preschool crowd, Pete the Cat would surely top this list! The original version of this popular series is a colorful and fun story are set to music that your preschoolers will love! And when you’re done reading , you can have your preschoolers engage in one of these Pete the Cat Activities.

Pete the Cat Rocking in My School Shoes
Pete the Cat: Rocking in My School Shoes, by Eric Litwin
Your kids will love rockin out with Pete in this version specifically about the beginning of the school year.

Llama Llama Red Pajama
Llama Llama Red Pajama, by Anna Dewdney
Young children relate to the character of little Llama in the various stories in this series. Rhyming text and colorful illustrations paired with meaningful topics such as separation anxiety, sharing, bullying, and tantrums is a recipe for success with the early childhood crowd!

The pigeon has to go to school

Fun and Engaging Books for the Beginning of the Year

Don’t Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus, by Mo Willems
Mo Willems unique style of writing is short and sweet, yet hilariously funny. Young children everywhere love to “talk” to the pigeon.

Don’t Let the Pigeon Stay Up Late, by Mo Willems

The Pigeon Has to Go to School! by Mo Willems

Press Here
Press Here, by Herve Tullet

Is Everyone Ready for Fun? by Jan Thomas

Please Don't Read this Book
Please Don’t Read This Book! by Deanna Kizis

The Doghouse, by Jan Thomas

book list for the beginning of the school year in preschool

Books About Sharing and Behavior

Mine-o-saur, by Sudipta Bardhan-Quallen

Llama Llama Time to Share
Llama Llama Time to Share, by Anna Dewdney

No, David! by David Shannon

David Gets in Trouble, by David Shannon

Llama Llama and the Bully Goat, by Anna Dewdney

Recess Queen, by Laura Huliska-Beith and Alexis O’Neill

The Crayon Box That Talked, by Shane Derolf

Chrysanthemum, by Kevin Henkes

Howard B Wigglebottom
Howard B Wigglebottom Learns to Listen, by Howard Binkow and Susan F. Cornelison

Too Much Glue, by Jason Lefebvre

Have You Filled a Bucket Today? by Carol McCloud

Spaghetti on a Hot Dog Bun, by Maria Dismondy

Owl Babies, by Martin Waddell and Patrick Benson

Wemberly Worried
Wemberly Worried, by Kevin Henkes

Bears New Friend
Bear’s New Friend, by Karma Wilson
Your little learners will relate to this sweet tale about bear making a new friend.

chicka chicka boom boom

Pre-K Books to Read in the Beginning of the Year

Chicka Chicka Boom Boom! by Bill Martin Jr., John Archambault and Lois Ehlert
The rhyming text in this alphabet book is highly engaging. Young children love to point out “their letter” in the pictures.

I Like Myself! by Karen Beaumont
Karen Beaumont’s delightful rhyming text paired with David Catrow’s whimsical illustrations make for the perfect beginning of the year read-aloud that also builds self-esteem. Perfect to pair with an All About Me theme.

You may notice that The Kissing Hand and The Gingerbread Man are missing from my back to school pre k book list. While I feel that these books are good books, I don’t choose to read them at the beginning of the year because they don’t meet the criteria for a beginning of the year read aloud. The best books to read aloud in the beginning of the school year in a preschool or pre-k classroom are those that are short, rhyme, and are interactive.

And if you need more help setting up for the beginning of the year, don’t forget to grab our Back to School Bundle.  You will get our behavior management toolkit, plus editable signs, and charts to help you organize and manage your classroom.

More Book Lists from Pre-K Pages

Earth Day Picture Books
Life Cycle Books for Preschool
Spring Books for Preschool
Books About Pets for Preschool
Valentine Books

23 thoughts on “Best Back To School Books For The First Day Of Preschool And Pre-k”

  1. I agree! Its so important to carefully choose the books you read at the beginning. The books about school are not always the best choice because they might be too long. I read “What Color is Your Underwear” the first day of school – its very short, but fun, and the kids listened because it caught their interest. Also read “Pete the Cat: Rocking in My School Shoes”, and they caught on to the song right away.

    1. Oh my goodness, my students would just LOVE the ‘What Color is my Underwear’ book!

      Thanks for the suggestion!

  2. Vanessa, I like this post. Will you do a similar one with music? I need a few new CD’s and don’t want to waste money on ones that only have 1-2 fun songs on them. Of course I know of Heidi Songs and Hap Palmer and Raffi and Greg & Steve, but there must be some more favorites out there that are fun and engaging! I would love to see others ideas on this. Thanks so much!

    1. Hi Shelli, Thanks for stopping by, I’m glad you liked this post. Yes, absolutely, I have plans to do many others like this. I can’t say exactly when but stay tuned!

  3. Thanks this is just what I needed! When I made the decision that I wasn’t going to read the Kissing Hand this year on the first day (as it never really got their attention) I wasn’t sure what I was going to read.

    1. Hi Rebecca, Thanks for stopping by and joining “team No Kissing Hand” I think it’s a great book, but doesn’t fit with my goal of making the first day of school fun and engaging. Good luck with your first day!

  4. Thanks this is very helpful. I’m preparing for the first day of school and this post came right in time.

  5. I love Pete the Cat and so do the kids!! Last year, I read “LLama..misses Mama” to my preschoolers. When I was all done, half the kids were in tears and wanted their mama’s. So, this year, I am going to read the “David Goes to school”. I look forward to your emails. Thanks:)

    1. Oh definitely, I thought of doing that as well but incorporated it into home visits rather than their first day. VERY good point!

  6. Wonderful list! It matches nearly identical to my own list! This year I will be doing a Chicka Chicka Boom Boom theme filled with coconut trees, letters, and monkeys!

    I am certainly on the “no Kissing Hand” team as it has never been a first day favorite. I’m so glad to hear others feel the very same way!

    As for me, I took Llama, Llama Misses Moma with me on my home visit. I read this with the kids and we talked about how Llama is feeling and how they might be feeling about their first day of school! It’s such a fun book and is a wonderful book to read in preparation for preschool 🙂 I also take Brown Bear, Brown Bear in order to get immediate feedback on how well the student know colors and how easily they pick up on the repeating phrases. Besides, how can you not love Brown Bear, right?

    Thanks for sharing!

    1. I love how you incorporate read-alouds into the home visit process, it’s so important and a great way to demonstrate how to read aloud to the parents- as well as beneficial for the child! Thanks for sharing

  7. Hi vaness I liked your post the books but.
    I never read to my children ! no David ! Thank:)

  8. I LOVE book lists~ this one is wonderful! We are huge fans of Chicka Chicka Boom Boom! One of our all time favorites! Thanks so much for linking up to Discover & Explore!

  9. I like to read HeidiSong’s Wiggles book for the first day. My kiddos love it. It’s kind of a silly book, but we use the phrase ” No,
    no Wiggles” all year.

  10. serkan karababa

    Hi,
    That list sounds interesting but what i wonder is whether these books are online or we can buy them somewhere

  11. Pingback: 45 Back to School Ideas for Kiddos & Families {Fun-A-Day!}

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