Book Finder

A celebration of the beauty, history, and magic behind names. Frustrated by a day full of teachers and classmates mispronouncing her beautiful name, a little girl tells her mother she never wants to come back to school. In response, the girl’s mother teaches her about the musicality of African, Asian, Black-American, Latinx, and Middle Eastern names on their lyrical walk home through the city. Empowered by this newfound understanding, the young girl is ready to return the next day to share her knowledge with her class. 

A gentle story about the everyday discoveries and accomplishments that school can bring. Ming is curious and playful and ready for adventure, but even she gets scared of new things sometimes. Kids will relate to her desires and fears and will be excited to see Ming at the top of the slide by the story’s end.

Lola and her family prepare for the first day of preschool the night before, then get up early, take pictures, and head to class. Lola puts her things in her cubby, chooses her activities, reads, plays, and has a snack. Before she knows it, it’s time to sing the good-bye song and rush into Mommy’s arms for a warm reunion. 

Three students are immigrants from Guatemala, Korea, and Somalia and have trouble speaking, writing, and sharing ideas in English in their new American elementary school. Through self-determination and with encouragement from their peers and teachers, the students learn to feel confident and comfortable in their new school without losing a sense of their home country, language, and identity.

Meet a diverse group of six children ranging in age from Kindergarten through fifth grade. With nerves and excitement each child gears up for a new school year by hustling in the morning, meeting new teachers and new classmates during the day, and heading home with homework and relief by day’s end. Simple, bright illustrations focus on each child and their worries, hopes, and successes on the first day of school.

Beautiful, joy-filled, color photographs of children studying, learning, exploring, and having fun invites young readers to see other kids just like them from all over the world. Whether they take a school bus, a boat, or a rickshaw to get there, kids around the globe are going to school and growing smarter and more curious every day.

Danbi is thrilled to start her new school in America. But a bit nervous too, for when she walks into the classroom, everything goes quiet. Everyone stares. Danbi wants to join in the dances and the games, but she doesn’t know the rules and just can’t get anything right. With a spark of imagination, she makes up a new game and leads her classmates on a parade to remember.

Summer is over, and this little girl has got the school spirit! She hears the school spirit in the bus driving up the street — VROOM, VROOM! — and in the bell sounding in the halls — RING-A-DING! She sings the school spirit in class with her friends — ABC, 123!

It’s the first day of school at Frederick Douglass Elementary and everyone’s just a little bit nervous, especially the school itself. What will the children do once they come? Will they like the school? Will they be nice to him? The school has a rough start, but as the day goes on, he soon recovers when he sees that he’s not the only one going through first-day jitters.

A confident little boy takes pride in his first day of kindergarten. Starting kindergarten is a big milestone! He’s dressed himself, eaten a pile of pancakes, and can’t wait to be part of a whole new kingdom of kids. And afterward, he can’t wait to tell his proud parents all about his achievements, and then wake up to start another day.

Teachers build a sense of community within their classrooms, creating a home away from home where they make their students feel safe, included, and loved. This is a book that will help build and strengthen that class community. Kids learn that their classroom is a place where it’s safe to be themselves, it’s okay to make mistakes, and it’s important to be a friend to others. 

Musa’s feeling nervous about his first day of school. He’s not used to being away from home and he doesn’t know any of the other kids in his class. And when he meets classmates Moisés, Mo, and Kevin, Musa isn’t sure they’ll have much in common. But over the course of the year, the four boys learn more about each other, the holidays they celebrate, their favorite foods, and what they like about school. The more they share with each other, the closer they become, until Musa can’t imagine any better friends.

Bree overcomes her fear of water and learns to swim with the help of an older neighbor in this handsome, powerful graphic novel. The girl learns a lot about herself and her new community in this engaging, handsome presentation.

Is hiding who you are worth staying invisible? That’s what Jillian confronts as she navigates 5th grade. Can Jillian break out of her shell as fast as her chick in the classroom experiment? Readers will relate to the plausible characters in a realistic setting in this debut novel.

Two boys, best friends, live next-door to each other. Marco is academically talented and short; Isaac is a basketball whiz but struggles with his studies. How the boys help each other cope with school, parents, and more is realistic, plausible, and totally engaging.

Being a teen or tween is tough for anyone. And if you’re on the Autism Spectrum, life can feel like a game you’re playing without knowing the rules. This bestselling handbook is the key to unlocking those unwritten, often confusing, not-so-obvious social guidelines and bolstering confidence, all at once. The 10th Anniversary Edition reveals the essential secrets behind the baffling social codes surrounding making and keeping friends, dating, and catastrophic conversation pitfalls, with all-new content on social media and talking about neurodiversity. 

When five-year-old Luli joins her new English as a Second Language class, the playroom is quiet. Luli can’t speak English, neither can anyone else. That’s when she has a brilliant idea to host a tea party and bring them all together. Luli removes her teapot, thermos, and teacups from her bag and calls out “Chá!” in her native Chinese. One by one, her classmates pipe up in recognition: in Russian, Hindi, Turkish, Persian, Arabic, and Spanish, Portuguese, and Swahili. Tea is a tasty language they all know well, and it gives them a chance to share and enjoy each other’s company. 

Manu and her best friend, Josefina, live at a magical school for girls, where Manu is always getting into trouble. Drawing from her own Dominican experience, the author weaves together religion, and lore and creates a world where magical powers bestowed by saints and evil eye necklaces work hand in hand. This fast-paced, funny adventure is about friendship, defying expectations, and finding your place. 

Black seventh grader Jordan Banks learns to navigate the upscale Riverdale Academy Day School while keeping his neighborhood friends and working to staying true to himself.

When Max starts school, the teacher hesitates to call out the name on the attendance sheet. Something doesn’t seem to fit. Max lets her know the name he wants to be called by ― a boy’s name. This begins Max’s journey as he makes new friends and reveals his feelings about his identity to his parents. Written with warmth and sensitivity by trans writer Kyle Lukoff, this book is a sweet and age-appropriate introduction to what it means to be transgender. This is the first book in the Max and Friends series.

Ben loves baseball. He loves the lines of diamond-shaped field and the dome of the pitcher’s mound. What Ben doesn’t like is reading. Ben has dyslexia, which means letters and sounds get jumbled up in his brain, and then the words don’t make sense. But when Ben starts looking at reading like he looks at baseball, he realizes that if he keeps trying, he can overcome any obstacle that comes his way. In this empowering story by California Governor Gavin Newsom, inspired by his own childhood diagnosis of dyslexia, readers will learn that kids with the determination to try (and try again) can do big things.

When Hector and his mom leave their San Francisco home, the 12-year-old becomes an outsider, bullied because of his dramatic flair and love of theater. He takes refuge from his tormenters in a janitor’s closet where he meets two other outsiders — from different schools in different states. The contemporary fantasy is heartwarming with a gratifying conclusion.

Hudi’s dad is athletic, but Hudi is not. Hudi is funny and well, chunky. In this fictionalized memoir, Hudi confronts his family’s expectation, school bullies, and how to be true to his real interests. The graphic format captures the tone, tensions, and wit of the story.

Things are changing at the start of second grade for Audrey Locke. Her best friend Diego seems to have found other friends and to make matters worse, another Audrey is joining the class. Kids will recognize the minor crises in this recognizable, appealing, and generously illustrated story.