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.
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 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.
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, 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, by David Shannon
Mouse’s First Day of School, by Lauren Thompson
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, 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, 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!
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, by Herve Tullet
Is Everyone Ready for Fun? by Jan Thomas
Please Don’t Read This Book! by Deanna Kizis
The Doghouse, by Jan Thomas
Books About Sharing and Behavior
Mine-o-saur, by Sudipta Bardhan-Quallen
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 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, by Kevin Henkes
Bear’s New Friend, by Karma Wilson
Your little learners will relate to this sweet tale about bear making a new friend.
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
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.
Hi Karen! I bet they will never forget their first day of pre-k after reading What Color is Your Underwear 🙂 Love that book!
Oh my goodness, my students would just LOVE the ‘What Color is my Underwear’ book!
Thanks for the suggestion!
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!
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!
You will love the Dr Jean DVD collection.
Anything Dr. Jean is great! I would love a music list like this though!
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.
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!
Thanks this is very helpful. I’m preparing for the first day of school and this post came right in time.
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:)
Oh definitely, I thought of doing that as well but incorporated it into home visits rather than their first day. VERY good point!
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!
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
Hi vaness I liked your post the books but.
I never read to my children ! no David ! Thank:)
I think you and your children will enjoy the story No David Ana, it’s also available in Spanish.
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!
Thanks for stopping by Chelsey 🙂 I plan on linking up more often, thanks for the opportunity.
You just cannot go wrong with a Llama Llama book. We love them all in our house 🙂
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.
Hi,
That list sounds interesting but what i wonder is whether these books are online or we can buy them somewhere
Yes, all of the books are available online. Just click on the picture of the book to go to Amazon.
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