So by now every teacher and kid I know is back in school. I won’t be starting in my new job until mid-September, so I didn’t get to do the first week thing this year. But I made a list of back to school books I like, maybe I’ll use them next year.

Chrysanthemum by Kevin Henkes (c1991). Little Chrysanthemum the mouse thinks she has the perfect name-until she starts school and the other girls tell her different.

First Grade, Here I Come! by Nancy Carlson (2006). A little mouse tells his mom all about his exciting first day in first grade, including everything that’s different from kindergarten.

The Librarian From the Black Lagoon by Mike Thaler (1997). All the kids are terrified to visit the library, where they’ve heard that Mrs. Beamster (known to the kids as “The Laminator”) is really mean.

Miss Malarkey Leaves No Reader Behind by Judy Finchler & Kevin O’Malley (2006). Miss Malarkey persists all year to find a good book for a very reluctant reader.

Miss Nelson Is Missing! by Harry G. Allard (1985). The classic story of Miss Nelson’s out of control class and the world’s meanest substitute teacher.

Splat the Cat by Rob Scotton (2008). This is the book I read for my School Year Resolutions program, about a cat terrified of his first day at cat school.