Books to help your child cover the basics before they start school.
Find more resources on preparing for school, including recommended books and a loanable school pack.
Get Ready for School!
Rachel Accurso
Based on the viral Sesame Street collaboration with YouTube phenomenon Ms Rachel, emerging pre-schoolers will love learning the skills and routines that will help them have a great day at school.
From waking up to brushing their teeth to packing their bags, Ms Rachel and Elmo model each step to getting ready for school in this sturdy and colourful board book that will help children visualise and prepare their own morning routines.
How to Train Your Teacher
Bethany Walker
The first day at school can be scary – especially for the teacher!
In this picture book you’ll learn all the ways you help your teacher get through the school day: watching over them in the playground, listening to their stories, and spotting missing numbers.
Most of all, you’ll see how much fun school can be!
Lenny Goes to School
Ken Wilson-Max
Lenny starts school! The first day is full of different feelings and new things to learn. But meeting Miss Taiwo helps.
Lenny does some drawing, rides a tricycle and plays with a ball. All the children sing ‘Wheels On The Bus’ together. By the end of the day, he is best friends with Lucy.
I Am Ready for School
Camilla Reid
Roo and friends are ready for an exciting day at school! Would you like to come with them?
From morning drop-off and the first lessons of the day, through lunch, playtime and lots to learn in the afternoon, there is so much going on at school!
Roo and the other children need to find their pegs, go to the loo, decide what to eat, find their way around… and have lots of FUN along the way!
Hooray! It’s Our First Day
Martha Mumford and Cherie Zamazing
Get ready to start school with the bunnies, as our four favourite friends set off on an exciting lift-the-flap adventure to get to their first day of school.
With lunchboxes, fresh pencils, school bags and treats to find hidden under the flaps, it’s an action-packed treasure hunt!
Can you find everything you need to get ready for your first day – and get the bunnies there on time?
The Tour at School: Because You’re the New Kid!
K.C Clapham and Nadia Shireen
When you show a new kid around it’s called giving them ‘The Tour’. It’s a really important job and there are lots of things to remember because they don’t know ANYWHERE in the school and you have to tell them about EVERYTHING.
Being a New Kid in a new school can be scary. Luckily, this book shows you how to be the PERFECT Tour Guide and make your New Kid feel right at home.
Sasha Feels Shy
Natalia Shaloshvili
Sasha has been invited to a playdate at Leo’s. Leo bounces up and down as he wants to play cafe, start a band, and fly to the moon.
It’s all too much for Sasha who wants to go back home. How can Sasha manage her shyness and show Leo that she really does want to make friends?
The Hug Button
Naomi Jones and Rebecca Ashdown
It’s Matilda’s first day at The Meadows and she’s very excited. But when Mummy goes to say goodbye, Matilda isn’t happy. She doesn’t want Mummy to go.
The next day, Mummy has a helpful suggestion. She draws two hug buttons-one on Matilda’s wrist and one on her own.
Then, when Matilda wants a hug, or wants to give one, she can press the hug button and know that Mummy is thinking about her too.
Olu’s Teacher
Jamel Carly Campbell and Lydia Mba Blazquez
Olu is about to start nursery and meet his teacher, Jay. But what will Jay be like? What if he has big sharp teeth like a dinosaur, wonders Olu, or breathes fire like a dragon?!
His worries fly away when Jay greets him with a big smile, before reading stories, playing the guitar and making Olu feel right at home.
This is a reassuring story about a child’s first experience of nursery or preschool.
All You Need to Know About Going to School
Felicity Brooks
Join five animal friends as they start school in this delightful introduction to the school day, from getting dressed in the morning to home time.
Charming illustrations depict the school day and some of the early years concepts including colours, shapes, numbers and counting, weather and seasons, the body and senses and more. An entertaining introduction to the world of pegs, classrooms, registers, teachers, lessons, lunchboxes, school toilets and playtime.
Perfect for any child, parent or carer excited or nervous about the first day.
This is a School
John Schu
A school isn’t just a building; it is all the people who work and learn together. It is a place for discovery and asking questions.
A place for sharing, for helping, and for community. It is a place of hope and healing, even when that community can’t be together in the same room.
The Bear Behind
Sam Copeland
Meet Ivor, a little boy in a big world, who absolutely, categorically, definitely does NOT like any sort of attention.
So it’s more than a minor catastrophe for Ivor to discover on his first day of school that he has a great big – BEAR BEHIND!
Starting School
Daisy Upton
Getting your child ready to start school can feel overwhelming, can’t it? It’s a big step for both of you. Daisy Upton, is here to help. Share this gentle, funny guide with your child to support them – and you!
With uniforms, meeting their first teacher, getting to school on the first day, making new friends, finding their way around, having fun at playtime, asking for help, packing their bag, learning about letters and numbers, going to assemblies, getting changed for PE, and much more.
The Pigeon HAS to Go to School!
Mo Willems
The Pigeon is about to get schooled! Do you think he should go? Why does the Pigeon have to go to school? He already knows everything! Well, almost everything.
And what if he doesn’t like it? What if the teacher doesn’t like him? I mean, what if he learns too much!?!
Starting School
Janet Ahlberg
A classic picture book which offers advice and enjoyment for the whole family before school starts.
From first day nerves to finding your peg, this reassuring read is full of humour and fun for children and parents alike.
Ready for School Words: 1000 Words for Big Kids
Hannah S. Campbell
Featuring all the words a child should know before they start school, this charming book takes you from familiar scenes of home, the playground and the classroom.
Children will start school with confidence and a brand-new vocabulary after exploring the colourful community in this book.
This Is How We Stay Safe: For Little Kids Going To Big School
Sally Beets and Gunjan Mewati
Learn all the super-important life skills you need to keep safe with this new series of books all about preparing little ones for school.
No matter what grown-ups tell you, being little is hard work; there’s so much to learn – from knowing who to talk to if you feel upset, to remembering to put your seatbelt on and how to cross the road safely, and a whole bunch of other things too.
Don’t panic, This is ‘How We Stay Safe’ is here to guide you along the way by teaching you the skills you need to look after yourself and keep safe – on the road, online, and around strangers.
Nursery? Not Today!
Rebecca Patterson
For any child who is anxious about starting nursery, this fun-filled story, brimming with positivity, is the perfect antidote!
It is Monday and Rosa feels very big and very, very grown up. She is going to nursery.
Little Owl’s First Day
Debi Gliori and Alison Brown
It’s a big day for Little Owl. His first day at school. Little Owl doesn’t want a big day though. He’d rather stay at home and have fun with Mummy and Baby Owl.
But at school he gets to build a rocket, learn to fly and even make a tiny new friend.
I Have to Start School Today
Simon Philip
I have to start at school today. ‘You’ll have such fun!’ my parents say. I know they think I’ll be okay. But what if things don’t go my way? Starting at a new school can be scary business.
Luckily, Grandma is on hand to point out that there’s no need to fright, as things could just as easily go right!
I Don’t Want to Go to School!
Lula Bell and Brian Fitzgerald
It’s Mouse’s first day of school. It’s Dinosaur’s first day of school. They don’t want to go!
But when lessons start, there’s a very big surprise!
First Day at Bug School
Sam Lloyd
At the bottom of the garden where no one really sees, a secret school is hidden amongst the grass and weeds. Welcome to Bug School. Don’t be nervous on your first day – it’s lots of fun.
This is a rhythmic, bright celebration of school, starring some very cute bugs indeed, sure to allay first-day-at-school fears.
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