“Back-to-School” brings up so many feelings and emotions. As September looms closer I always get a vague panicky feeling, like there’s something I’m forgetting to do. This is usually followed by some dream that I am in high school or college and I have been going to school all year only to realize that there was a class I completely forgot to go to and now it’s too late! (I honestly have some version of this dream every year!) Luckily, I do not have to go back to school, but that panicked feeling is there nonetheless.
“Back-to-School” also means Fall, for me. Even though we are technically still in Summer. This should be changed, by the way, because everyone knows that September is Fall. I have always loved this season and I was crushed when I realized that Fall doesn’t really start until around the 21st – 23rd of September, which meant that my early September “Fall” birthday was, in fact, a “Summer” birthday. This was a big part of my identity that had to be reworked. Or, as I previously suggested, it should be changed so that the 1st of the month is automatically Fall. I’m just saying…..
Also, Fall (or late Summer) also means the return of…….Pumpkin coffee!!! Yes, it’s back. And it is good. I recommend the pumpkin latte at Starbucks, or the iced pumpkin swirl at Dunkin.
In the world of Public Libraries, “Back-to-School” usually means the end of the Summer Reading Program and quiet days in the Children’s Room. This is the time when we clean up and re-organize and plan Fall and Winter programs. Or, this is what it should be for. Mostly, I don’t get as much done as I would like. I love this cozy-ish time of year, and there are some cute books for going back to school and the Fall season. The following are a few books I have used in story time and some that I just found and plan to use next week in my first story time of the season. (The last one, Audrey Penn’s The Kissing Hand, was one that my mom gave me when I went away for my freshman year of college!)
by Kevin O'Malley, Picture Book, Ages 3 to 6, Walker, 2004
Ken Robbins, Picture Book/Non-fiction, Ages 4 to 6, Scholastic Press, 1998
by Pamela Jane, Illustrated by Steve Haskamp, Picture Book, Ages 2 to 4, Simon and Schuster, 2005
by Lois Ehlert , Picture Book, Ages 4 to 8, Harcourt, 2005
by Lauren Thompson, Buket Erdogan, Picture Book (Series), Ages 3 to 5, Simon and Schuster, 2006
Linda Glaser, Cut-paper illustrations by Susan Swan, Picture Book, Ages 3 to 7, Millbrook Press, 2001
by David Ezra Stein, Picture Book, Ages 4 to 6, Penguin, 2007
by Bob Raczka, Illustrated by Judy Stead, Picture Book, For ages 3 to 6, Albert Whitman, 2007
by David Shannon, Ages 4-8, Blue Sky Press,1999
by Audrey Penn, Ages 4-8, Tanglewood Press, 2006